RCB all captains list: How many cricketers have captained Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL?

RCB all captains list: Former South African captain will be the seventh cricketer to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Despite a newly-launched jersey set to provide Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 22-member squad with a slightly changed look, there is another reason which has it in it to affect the team in ways more than just aesthetics.

Former captain Virat Kohli announcing him stepping down from the leadership role during IPL 2021 has resulted in RCB appointing former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis as their seventh captain. 20th-highest IPL run-scorer, du Plessis (INR 7 crore) was among the 19 players bought by the franchise during the mega auction held in Bengaluru last month.

In what won’t be just another leadership change, Royal Challengers not playing a whole IPL season under Kohli will change a nine-year old custom.

Readers must note that no other IPL captain has led a team for this long without winning an IPL title even once. As a matter of fact, Bangalore are among the three franchises (alongside Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings) to have played each season of the IPL since 2008 without winning a single title.

RCB all captains list (table updated before IPL 2023)

Former India captain and current head coach Rahul Dravid was the first captain at RCB. A miserable inaugural season of the IPL resulted in the reigns being given to former England batter Kevin Pietersen in 2009.

Former India captain Anil Kumble was the third cricketer to lead Royal Challengers in the IPL. Subsequently, former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was given the leadership role for a couple of seasons. Vettori missing matches due to an injury became an opportunity for Kohli to lead Royal Challengers.

Not looking back since then, RCB’s management persisted with Kohli for all these years. It goes without saying that Kohli has led Royal Challengers in the maximum number of matches (140) till date.

From Rahul Dravid to Virat Kohli, our captains have been a symbol of royalty.

With the baton in your hand, it’s now over to you, skipper @faf1307 to take us to the victory lap. 💯#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #CaptainFaf #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/vBu4Q0wSrA

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 14, 2022

Retired from Test cricket, du Plessis is no longer part of South Africa’s white-ball squads. Set to lead an IPL franchise for the first time in his 12th season, it will be interesting to see a 37-year old player making his captaincy debut in the biggest T20 tournament.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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