The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are done with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, buying some top players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Phil Salt, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma etc. However, what the franchise failed to get in the auction is a captaincy candidate. While rumours of Virat Kohli being keen to take up the leadership role himself have been circulating before the start of the auction, RCB icon AB de Villiers has now confirmed the same, saying the India star will take up the role next season.
De Villiers remains one of the greats of the game, as well as the IPL. He arguably enjoyed the most prolific IPL stint with RCB and still remains someone who is often exposed to the inside talks at the franchise. Being one of Kohli’s best friends, De Villiers is aware of the intricate details of his life, more often than not.
In a video on his YouTube channel, De Villiers confirmed that Kohli will take up RCB captaincy despite the fact that no official announcement has been made on the topic yet.
“Virat Kohli, I don’t think it has been confirmed yet but he will be captain looking at the squad,” said the South Africa great.
De Villiers also reflected his views on RCB’s squad, saying he is delighted to see the franchise signing the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jos Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi and a few others.
“We got Bhuvneshwar Kumar, happy with Josh Hazlewood. We did miss out on a couple here and there. Rabada was close, but at least we got Lungi Ngidi. He’s got a wonderful slower ball, if he is in form and fit, he is a force to be reckoned with,” said the former Proteas captain.
The Proteas great was also said to see RCB miss out on R Ashwin. He also feels that the lack of a spinner who can turn the ball both ways is a problem for the team.
“We missed out on Ravichandran Ashwin. CSK got him, but very happy to see him in the yellow jersey again. But all in all, I’m fairly happy. It’s a well-balanced squad, we are missing a match-winning spinner but hopefully we are able to balance the squad in such a manner that we make Chinnaswamy a fortress. This squad should work at Chinnaswamy.”
“On the road, I feel we might miss out on someone who turns both ways. We need it, and I feel we are lacking it a little bit. It reminds me a touch about the transfer window some time in the future. I wish the IPL and the BCCI will bring out a transfer window, where half-way through the tournament, we could make transfers. You can possibly get an extra spinner into the squad, a wrist spinner, perhaps, or you could go back to the unsold list. It’s something to think about,” said the South African great.
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