How Virat Kohli Became Rajat Patidar's Shield In Historic RCB Captaincy Run
With Virat Kohli acting as the shield, Rajat Patidar has taken the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to new heights through his captaincy in IPL 2026.
It isn't often that you see an IPL captain, especially an Indian one, not being the talk of the town. However, with Virat Kohli still being seen as the spine of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, Rajat Patidar's role has flown under the radar since the start of last season. After leading RCB to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title last year, Patidar played a pivotal role as the Bengaluru side qualified for the final for the second consecutive year, beating the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Patidar produced arguably his finest knock of the season, scoring a 33-ball 93 to take the team into the summit clash.
But what's behind Patidar's success? It is actually the 'Virat Kohli factor', as the Indian icon continues to be seen as the pivotal figure in the team despite not being the captain. The likes of Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya have had to deal with intense criticism whenever their respective teams haven't done well. While there has been praise, too, at RCB, things are different.
No matter the result, it is Kohli who remains the talk of the town, sometimes for his runs (or lack thereof), and at other times, for his antics on the field. Even when RCB lost their final league match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, it was Kohli's altercation with Travis Head that dominated social media chatter.
Kohli, being the person he is, continues to attract the spotlight. But this is exactly what has worked to Patidar's benefit. With the spotlight firmly on Kohli, Patidar has found it quite comfortable to work with the players at his disposal, getting the best out of them as well as himself.
Benefitting from the lack of intense focus on his captaincy performances, Patidar has become the first RCB captain to lead the team to back-to-back finals.
It's all about the mindset
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2026
Captain Rajat Patidar on the secret behind @RCBTweets' record-breaking batting show #TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #TheFinalLeap | #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/hljvHqxpxc
Kohli does not just take away the pressure from Patidar but has also backed him to the hilt ever since the franchise announced the decision to appoint him as the skipper. Kohli publicly backed Patidar as captain last year, praising his calm temperament and cricketing intelligence. This endorsement gave the middle-order batter immediate credibility and confidence in the dressing room.
In the press conference after the match against Gujarat in Dharamsala, RCB's Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, was asked how he goes about his captaincy without drawing too much attention, but makes all the important decisions in a very cool, calm, and, you know, uncomplicated way.
In reply, Bobat said, "In terms of his captaincy, you're right. He's a very calm individual. Uh, you know, it's one of the things that stood out last year as well, and, you know, with every game he captains, he gets more and more experience, and that will only add to his own confidence, his own resilience under pressure. He keeps things pretty simple. He, you know, a bit like I said in the press conference recently, that he's somebody who wants to focus on doing his job when he gets on the field, and he's pretty relaxed with everything off the field.
"So, he's very good at managing his own energy, which I think is serving him well right now, because he's saving his energy for his batting, which is obviously going well, and also saving his energy for when he needs to get his tactics right out in the middle. So, long may that continue."
With Kohli and Patidar, RCB have a fire-and-ice combination that blends effortlessly.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Virat Kohli