Royal Challengers Bangalore has been the most unlucky team in the history of the Indian Premier League. RCB has been part of the league since the 2008 season and has signed some of the biggest names in the game. But they haven’t won an IPL trophy until now. Adding to that, the franchise has made the playoffs seven times, including three appearances in the final.
They reached the IPL final three times, in 2009, 2011, and 2016, but lost all three times. Despite the fact that they have yet to win the championship, the franchise has not made any major changes to the team. So far, a total of seven players have led the franchise in the IPL. And here we will talk about RCB skippers from the first season in 2008.
List of Captains for Royal Challengers Bangalore
| Captain | Span | Mts | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahul Dravid | 2008-2008 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 2009-2009 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Anil Kumble | 2009-2010 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 54.28 |
| Daniel Vettori | 2011-2012 | 28 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 53.57 |
| Virat Kohli | 2011-2021 | 140 | 64 | 69 | 3 | 4 | 48.16 |
| Shane Watson | 2017-2017 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Faf du Plessis* | 2022-2024 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
4. Rahul Dravid (IPL 2008)
Rahul Dravid was the first ever player to captain the team in the inaugural season in 2008. But the performance of the team didn’t go well, and they ended up in 7th place out of 8. That was the only season that Dravid captained the team. He led in 14 games and won just four while losing 10 of them. Although, Dravid played with RCB until 2010 then joined RR. He scored 1132 runs in 52 games for them..
3. Anil Kumble (IPL 2009 and 2010)
After Rahul Dravid, it was former Indian captain Anil Kumble who took charge of the RCB captaincy in 2009. He led the franchise in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively. Kumble led RCB to the finals of 2009 and playoffs in 2010 season. Under his captaincy, Bangalore played 35 games and won 19 and lost 16 matches. He was part of 51 games for RCB and took 53 wickets, with a best of 5/5.
2. Faf du Plessis (IPL 2022 – onwards)
Faf du Plessis took charge of the captaincy after Virat Kohli stepped down from that role in 2022. The franchise signed Du Plessis for a price of INR 7 crore. He did a brilliant job as a captain and led the team to the playoffs. RCB ended the 2022 season in third place. Du Plessis himself did well, scoring 468 runs in 16 games with three half centuries as the team’s captain.
1. Virat Kohli (RCB captain between 2013 to 2021)
Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is the most capped captain for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He became the captain of the team in 2013 when Daniel Vettori stepped down. And from that season until 2021, Virat stayed as the captain. Later, he himself stepped down as a captain in 2022 after leading the team for nine seasons. Under Virat, RCB played the 2016 final and qualified for the playoffs in 2015, 2020, and 2021. He led the team in 140 matches and has 64 wins, 69 losses, three ties, and four no-results to his name.