Captain of RCB: List of All The Captains and Their Records

The captain of RCB has always been more than just a team leader, they carry the hopes of millions of passionate fans who bleed red and gold. From Rahul Dravid’s dignified beginnings in 2008 to Rajat Patidar’s historic title-winning campaign in 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been led by some of cricket’s most iconic names. Each captain of RCB brought a unique style, strategy, and fighting spirit to the dugout. Yet, all of them shared one common dream, lifting the coveted IPL trophy for the most passionate fanbase in the league.

Who is the Captain of RCB in 2026?

The present captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 is Rajat Patidar. The IPL web site still has official pages of the RCB team that list him as captain this season, and the most recent match reports also mention him as the RCB skipper.
That is to say, there is no possibility of confusion: it is not Virat Kohli or Faf du Plessis who is the captain of RCB in 2026, but Rajat Patidar. Kohli is another key player in the franchise that is still of great importance, although now the leadership is in the hands of Patidar.

Current Captain of RCB: Rajat Patidar

The appointment of Rajat Patidar is important since he is a new stage in the leadership history of RCB. In contrast to other captains of the past who came as already known worldwide faces, the ascendancy of Patidar seems more of a local production within the RCB framework.
His leadership as the captain as well has attracted attention since at times he has led by example with the bat. In 2026, he smashed a brutal innings against Mumbai Indians and equalled a long-standing IPL captaincy batting record, as highlighted in recent reports. Such performance can also contribute to his leadership image as fans tend to have more confidence in a captain when he is on the field performing.

RCB Captains Records (2008-2026)

Here’s a list of the captain of RCB form 2008 to the ongoing season in 2026.

Player	Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	Win %
R Dravid	2008-2008	14	4	10	0	28.57
KP Pietersen	2009-2009	6	2	4	0	33.33
A Kumble	2009-2010	35	19	16	0	54.28
DL Vettori	2011-2012	28	15	13	0	53.57
V Kohli	2011-2023	143	66	70	3	46.15
SR Watson	2017-2017	3	1	2	0	33.33
F du Plessis	2022-2024	42	21	21	0	50
RM Patidar	2025-2026	19	14	5	0	73.68
JM Sharma	2025-2025	2	1	1	0	50

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Leadership History

The history of captaincy of RCB is directly connected to the bigger story of the franchise. One of the first leaders was Rahul Dravid, who was one of the leaders in the initial years when the team was still in the process of establishing its identity.
Anil Kumble was one of the earliest captains that were respected due to his ability to introduce discipline, tactical control and his presence as a leader. During his reign, RCB made it to the final of the IPL in 2009, one of the key success stories in the history of the franchise.
The side was later led by Daniel Vettori, who led the team at a time when RCB was still very competitive particularly with a batting core that kept the team in the limelight. However the longest and largest leadership period was with Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli Captainship RCB Period

Virat Kohli is incomplete to talk about RCB captaincy. He remains the most familiar captain in franchise history, and is the all-time captain in the history of RCB in games.
The records of the ESPNcricinfo team captaincy indicate that Kohli captained RCB in 143 T20 matches, the highest number per the franchise by far. His time marked the modern face of RCB, although he failed to secure the IPL title with the team.
The captaincy tenure of Kohli was marked by some of the most memorable seasons, however, the most remarkable was in 2016 when RCB made it to the final and he had one of the most remarkable batting seasons in the history of the IPL. The year is one of the most powerful illustrations of the impact of his personal form on the franchise.

Transition Period and Faf Du Plessis

Kohli retired as long-term leader and Faf du Plessis assumed leadership of RCB in 2022, serving until 2024. He also introduced a more relaxed and seasoned approach and his leadership enabled the team to stay competitive amid a period of transition.
The period of Faf is relevant since it held RCB together following the emotional and symbolic burden of the years of Kohli captaincy. Change of leadership can be quite a challenge in large franchises, yet with him RCB was still relevant and competitive.

New Chapter and Rajat Patidar

In 2025, Rajat Patidar became captain and is still in the same role in 2026. Already ESPNcricinfo records captains stating him as the official list of captains in RCB and the pages of the IPL teams indicate that he is the current captain.
This determines Patidar to be the personality of the new chapter of leadership in RCB. To the fans, it is not about whether he can be a good captain, but whether he has the ability to do what the other RCB leaders have failed to do and that is, lead the franchise to a championship.
This is why his captaincy is closely followed. Tactics is never the sole action of leadership in RCB. It is also about managing expectations, fan expectations and the shade of former captaincy times.

Significant Successes under other Leaders

• All great RCB captains are remembered in a different way.
• Anil Kumble is remembered to have led RCB to the 2009 IPL final.
• Daniel Vettori can be linked to a competitive period during the early 2010s.
• Virat Kohli is known to have the final run in 2016 and is the longest-serving captain of the franchise.
• Faf du Plessis is remembered as the person who had assisted RCB to remain stable under the post Kohli leadership.
• Rajat Patidar still has the active part of that story and is actively constructing his legacy.
• The issue with RCB, of course, is that with all of this leadership prowess, the franchise has nevertheless taken years to secure the first IPL title. And that is why every new captaincy phase seems to be so significant.

Virat Kohli Still the Captain of RCB?

No, Virat Kohli does not become the captain of RCB in 2026.
This is among the most misunderstood as Kohli is the largest icon of the franchise and most linked leader in the minds of many fans. The current captain is however Rajat Patidar.
The only difference is that Kohli is now a senior batter, franchise legend and one of the most influential players in the side. RCB continues to have a strong influence on him, however, the captaincy is in the hands of Patidar.

Conclusion on RCB Captaincy in 2026

When your search topic is captain of RCB, you will have an easy time answering the question: Rajat Patidar.
When it comes to the leadership history of the franchise, as your bigger question, the story of RCB captaincy goes through a few key names, though Virat Kohli still remains the key figure throughout history, and currently, the captain is replaced by Rajat Patidar.
That makes 2026 interesting to the fans of RCB. The new captain has been established, the handover of the captaincy has happened and now Patidar has to make one thing out of the captaincy promise; a really unforgettable one.

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