This might take you by surprise, but it wasn’t Virat Kohli but Jitesh Sharma who was gearing up to captain Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before the sudden suspension of IPL 2025. The wicketkeeper-batter, who was bought for a hefty Rs 11 crore at the auction, revealed in a video posted by RCB that he was all set to lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Rajat Patidar.
Patidar unavailable; Jitesh was supposed to captain RCB
Patidar suffered a finger injury during the clash against Chennai Super Kings while fielding at extra cover. The incident occurred in the 11th over when a shot from Ravindra Jadeja struck his finger. Though he initially stayed on, Patidar eventually had to walk off, leaving Kohli to temporarily take charge. However, with Patidar ruled out of the next fixture and Kohli not expected to continue as captain, the mantle was surprisingly handed to Jitesh Sharma.
“They were giving me an opportunity to captain RCB and it’s a very big thing for me and my family,” Jitesh told in a video shared by RCB.
𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵! 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴.
Happy memories from the season so far, but the dream is yet to be complete… we’ll be back, 12th Man… pic.twitter.com/rjLPTI1tDy
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2025
The planned RCB vs LSG match in Lucknow, scheduled for May 09, was officially called off following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. With airspace restrictions and security concerns mounting, the BCCI halted the tournament for seven days starting May 9.
RCB players and staff safely returned to Bengaluru, and the franchise issued a statement thanking the BCCI for ensuring their safety. A decision on the remainder of IPL 2025 is expected soon, but for now, Jitesh’s unexpected shot at captaincy in his maiden season with the franchise remains a story of what could have been.
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