Credit: IPL
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) scripted history after emerging victorious in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Rajat Patidar broke into record books as the ninth captain to win the distinguished trophy. Before Patidar, eminent international figures Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, Virat Kohli, and Faf du Plessis captained Challengers but couldn’t lead the side to the trophy win. Back in February 2025, when RCB appointed Patidar the captain of the team, there were doubts in RCB supporters’ minds regarding Patidar’s leadership prowess.
However, Patidar proved himself as skipper and achieved what huge cricketing personalities such as Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, and Rahul Dravid couldn’t in the cash-rich league. Patidar has also achieved the unique feat of becoming a captain to win the trophy on his leadership debut. Before the 31-year-old, only four skippers pulled off this extraordinary record. In this article, SportsTiger has talked about all five full-time captains who won IPL in their debut seasons as skippers.
5. Shane Warne
In 2008, when the inaugural edition of the league was played, Shane Warne displayed his captaincy skills and made Rajasthan Royals the first IPL champions. Under him, the Men in Pink topped the points tally with 11 wins in 14 outings. In the final, they displayed their dominance and beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by three wickets. Warne concluded the tournament as the second-highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in 15 games.
4. Adam Gilchrist
Witnessing the terrible campaign in 2008, Deccan Chargers appointed Australia legend Adam Gilchrist captain of the side for the second IPL season played in South Africa. Holding the reins of the team, he looked brilliant and guided the team to title victory. In the final, Chargers got the better of the Anil Kumble-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and bagged the trophy. Gilchrist led the team from the front and ended up as the second-leading run getter in the tournament. He smashed 495 runs with three fifties in 16 games.
3. Rohit Sharma
Noting the three-time Cricket World Cup champion Ricky Ponting’s lackluster performance as skipper in 2013, the Mumbai Indians (MI) team management trusted Rohit Sharma with the captaincy mantle. The right-handed batter played his role superbly and led Mumbai to their maiden title triumph. The Men in Blue beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 23 runs in the final played at the iconic Eden Gardens. Discussing Rohit’s performance as batter, he notched up 538 runs in 19 matches and ended up as the leading run-getter for Mumbai.
2. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was handed the leadership responsibility of the newly-formed Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2022. Handling the leadership role for the first time, he looked confident in all departments of the game. His exceptional performance resulted in Titans’ victory in the tournament. In the final game played in Ahmedabad, his team hammered Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets. The veteran chipped in with 487 runs and eight wickets in his side’s sensational success.
1. Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar is the latest addition on the list with his scintillating leadership show for RCB in IPL 2025. Under him, Bengaluru ended at the top two of the round-robin stage for the third time in their 18-year IPL history. After surpassing the league stage, Challengers looked relentless in the playoffs and hammered Punjab Kings (PBKS) twice to lift the trophy. Patidar’s batting contribution to the side was 312 runs in 15 matches.
