RCB All Captains List: How Many Players Have Captained Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL?

Royal Challengers Bangalore are arguably the most popular franchise in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008 by United Spirits ltd., the franchise was named after the company’s popular liquor brand Royal Challenge. However, the Bangalore-based franchise proved to be perennial underachievers in the mega-league as they are one of the only three teams to participate in every season since 2008 without winning the league.

Royal Challengers Bangalore reached the IPL final three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but they are yet to get their hands on their maiden IPL title. In these years, they have tried it all. They have assembled the strongest of the squads, tried different combinations, and even tried a number of players as the captain of the franchise.

However, nothing has worked for them so far. Here, we are going to talk about all players who have captained RCB in the IPL and take a look at the RCB’s all-captains list.

In this article, we will take a look at RCB’s all-captains in IPL history:

1. Rahul Dravid (2008)

In the inaugural season, Royal Challengers Bangalore named the Indian great Rahul Dravid as the icon player and the skipper of the franchise. However, the Reds had a season to forget as they finished 2nd-last in the points table after the completion of the league stage.

2. Kevin Pietersen (2009)

After a terrible inaugural season, the team management decided to make the wholesale changes to the squad ahead of the 2009 season. The Bangalore-based franchise signed the former destructive Englishman Kevin Pietersen for a record-breaking amount and also handed over the captaincy to him.

However, the move didn’t work well as Kevin Pietersen took some time to adjust to the IPL life. The franchise won only two of the first six games under the new leadership. However, RCB’s fortunes flipped once Kevin Pietersen left for the national duties and the legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble took over the captaincy mid-season.

3. Anil Kumble (2009, 2010)

The former Indian skipper Anil Kumble had to take over the captaincy reins midseason in 2009. However, it changed the fortunes for the Reds as they qualified for the playoffs after winning six consecutive matches. Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to reach the final in the 2009 season but faced a heartbreaking loss in the final.

Anil Kumble continued as the skipper for the RCB in the 2010 season as well. The franchise won seven games and lost seven during the league stage but managed to qualify for the playoffs courtesy of a superior net run rate. However, the Royal Challengers lost the semifinal to Mumbai Indians and crashed out of the competition.

Anil Kumble retired after the conclusion of the IPL 2010, and RCB were once again on the lookout for a new skipper.

4. Daniel Vettori (2011, 2012)

Ahead of the IPL 2011, the Royal Challengers Bangalore went on to make drastic changes to their squad. They released their all players ahead of the auction barring Virat Kohli. The franchise signed numerous superstars in the auction, including Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

The former Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori was selected as the captain of the Reds and the legendary spinner made an instant impact. Royal Challengers Bangalore made it to the IPL final in 2011 but once again fell short of the last hurdle.

In 2012, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished 5th in the points table and Daniel Vettori was sacked as the captain.

5. Virat Kohli (2011 – 2021)

Virat Kohli had already captained the RCB a few times in the 2011 and 2012 seasons in the absence of the regular skipper Daniel Vettori.

Ahead of the 2013 season, the Indian run-machine was announced as the full-time captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli is the longest-serving RCB skipper as the right-handed batter captained the Reds in 140 IPL games.

In the IPL 2013 and 2014, the franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs but they finished 3rd in the IPL 2015 and then played the final in 2016. However, Virat Kohli also failed to bring glory to RCB as they lost the IPL 2016 final to Sunrisers Hyderabad from a winning position.

From the IPL 2017-2019, Royal Challengers Bangalore endured a tough time in the league as the franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. In IPL 2020 and 2021, they qualified for the playoffs but failed to go beyond the Eliminator.

Ahead of the IPL 2022, the former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, announced that he will be relinquishing his captaincy duties for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

6. Shane Watson (2017)

The former Aussie all-rounder captained Royal Challengers Bangalore in three games during the IPL 2017. The regular skipper Virat Kohli endured an injury during the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League, hence, the big Watto got a chance to lead the RCB.

7. Faf du Plessis (2022 – Present)

The franchise signed the former Proteas skipper in the mega-auctions ahead of the IPL 2022. He subsequently was announced the new captain of the Bangalore-based franchise. Faf du Plessis did a decent job leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in his debut season as they managed to qualify for the playoffs for the 3rd consecutive season.

RCB also managed to clear the Eliminator hurdle this time around but failed to reach the final after losing the 2nd Qualifier. Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis is likely to return in the IPL 2023 to lead the side once again.

RCB captains and their stats in IPL:

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