Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been a pretty unlucky team. Despite their star power, they have failed to lift the IPL trophy.
RCB have even seen some world-class leaders lead their team. But their tactical acumen also somehow fell short of ensuring a title triumph.
While Virat Kohli was at the forefront for quite a long time, a few others also captained the team with fervour.
Here, we’ll list the captains who have led Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL.
1. Rahul Dravid
The local boy Rahul Dravid was the icon player for RCB in 2008. The captaincy duties also fell on his shoulders in the inaugural season.
While Dravid’s exploits for India were well known, he couldn’t bring the much-expected results for RCB. With four wins in 14 matches, the team finished in seventh position.
2. Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen became the new captain after Dravid stepped down last season. But he wasn’t available for the whole season in 2009.
Pietersen led them in six games earlier in the season before returning home with two wins.
3. Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble filled in for Pietersen in the remainder of the 2009 edition. And he turned around RCB’s campaign completely.
Kumble guided the team to their first-ever final. Although RCB lost by a whisker, the leg spinner played a big role in their ride to the final.
After the stellar performance, RCB backed Kumble for another season. This time as well, he led them to the knockouts. While RCB failed to win the semi-final, they wrapped up with a win in the third-place play-off game.
After this season, Kumble retired from the league with 15 victories in 26 matches.
4. Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori was Kumble’s successor in 2011. RCB stormed into their second final under Vettori’s leadership. But they couldn’t go the distance to clinch the title.
Vettori had another go in 2012, though he stepped down midway through the season. RCB had a shaky season under his aegis, while Vettori also didn’t click with the ball. So he decided to drop himself from the squad.
In all, the Kiwi player was at the helm for 22 matches, with 12 games going in RCB’s favour.
5. Virat Kohli
While Virat Kohli received the full-time reins in 2013, he filled in for Vettori in 2011 and 2012. His stand-in stint in 2012 showed he was ready to take on the bigger role.
And that’s when the full-time captaincy fell on Kohli’s shoulders in 2013. RCB missed the playoffs by two points that season, before a poor season struck in 2014.
But then Kohli’s men bounced back in 2015. They marched till Qualifier 2 before going down to CSK.
Bengaluru performed even better the next season. Kohli guided RCB to the final with a massive effort. But SRH crushed their dream in the summit clash.
Then followed a lean patch, as RCB fell short of the playoffs in the next three editions. Nothing seemed to work for the men in red and gold.
After three poor seasons, though, Bengaluru entered the knockouts in 2020 and 2021. But Kohli decided to step away from RCB’s captaincy after the 2021 edition.
While he couldn’t end RCB’s trophy drought, he led the team by example. The aggressive skipper led them in 143 matches and won 68 games, which places Kohli among the successful skippers in the league.
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6. Shane Watson
Shane Watson filled in for Kohli in three games in 2017. He led them to a solitary win in what was a terrible season for the team.
7. Faf du Plessis
After Kohli stepped down, RCB entrusted Faf du Plessis with captaincy in 2022. The South African picked up from where Kohli left off.
He took RCB to their third playoffs in a row, though they failed to go past Qualifier 2. The team missed out on the knockouts in 2023.
But Bengaluru had a remarkable turnaround under du Plessis’ captaincy in 2024. After a horrible start to the campaign, RCB looked uncertain of a playoff spot.
But then they pulled off six wins on the bounce to zoom into the knockouts. While they couldn’t win the Eliminator, it showed their determination to go the distance.
Despite such a performance, RCB didn’t retain du Plessis in 2025. He captained the team in 42 games and had a 50-50 record.
8. Rajat Patidar
After du Plessis’ departure, Rajat Patidar took over the reins in 2025. He once came in as an injury replacement in the team. From there to lead the team is a stuff of dreams.
Patidar’s calm and composed leadership has been effective for Bengaluru. They have pulled off some tough wins under his captaincy thus far.
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