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On Monday, November 25, the highly-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction concluded at the Abady Al Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After a total of 577 players were shortlisted for the IPL 2025 mega auction, 182 players found a team and 395 went unsold. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), completed a squad of 25 players, including eight overseas signning from their purse of INR 120 Cr.
While the side had retained star batter Virat Kohli (INR 21 Cr), alongside Yash Dayal (INR 5 Crore) and Rajat Patidar (INR 11 Cr), they built a strong squad on the auction table, signing the likes of England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, hard-hitter Liam Livingstone, Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood, among others. However, they failed to get someone who would lead the side in the IPL, opening the gates for Virat Kohli to return at the helm.
Virat Kohli likely to lead RCB in IPL 2025
After the franchise released Faf du Plessis ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, there were speculations making rounds of Virat Kohli being named their captain. However, the franchise haven’t named their skipper for IPL 2025, RCB Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat opened up on the prospects of Virat Kohli leading the side.
'Virat is a central figure, he is a senior member of the team. But we haven't made any decision when it comes to captaincy. We will decide later on. He dropped a few hot text messages to us yesterday, giving us feedback,' Mo Bobat said.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2025 full squad
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.
