Top Five Successful RCB Captains In IPL History ft. Virat Kohli

The Royal Challengers Bangalore, RCB are one of the teams in the history of the IPL that relish the biggest fanbase when it comes to reception from fans, alongside the Chennai Super Kings.

Though the Royal Challengers have had an immense legacy, they have seen several captains often handing over the armband to others. The leaders have been quite stunning as players, but they hold an exemplary record as skippers as well.

Let’s take a look at RCB’s top 5 successful captains:

5. Kevin Pietersen

The English batter played in the RCB during its initial days, and he occasionally took over as RCB skipper from the then skipper, Anil Kumble, though he didn’t seem to give great results. Petersen led RCB in 6 matches in his short tenure, while he led them to only 2 wins and 4 losses, as the win percentage remains 33.33%.

4. Virat Kohli

Will Virat Kohli be back as RCB skipper in 2025? (Image Credit: X)

Kohli is the most sensational player to have ever featured in the history of the IPL. He has left behind greats in the runs tally, as he turned into the first-ever batter who holds a record 8000 runs in a single franchise-level T20 domestic tournament.

Kohli is also one of the most aggressive and energetic skippers on the field, as he led RCB to their second IPL final in 2016, which they eventually lost. Kohli, under whom RCB played multiple editions of the IPL, led the team to 66 wins and 77 losses, thus securing his win percentage at 48.95%.

3. Faf du Plessis

Faf has been the current most RCB skipper upto IPl 2024 (Image Credit: X)

The skipper who led RCB in 2023 and 2024 holds quite a decent record as he nudged them off to successive years into the knockouts with his smart captaincy and standout batting.

Faf led them to 21 wins and 21 losses, while his win percentage stalled at 50.50.

2. Daniel Vettori

New Zealand’s former skipper, Daniel Vettori, is widely regarded as one of the most revolutionizing captains of world cricket, though he could not end the trophy drought of the Kiwis.

In the IPL as well, Vettori has seen immense success as a coach to the Sunrisers Hyderabad and extensive success with Team Australia across all formats. However, as a player, Vettori led RCB after the Kumble and Dravid period, when the team won 53.27% of the matches under him. RCB won 15 matches, with 13 ending in a losing cause.

1. Anil Kumble

Veteran RCB skipper Anil Kumble (Image Credit: X)

Legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble was one of the most veteran players to feature in the IPL in its earlier days from 2008-10. During his days, RCB looked like a totally different team; they occasionally had a few big names and lacked some on some occasions as well.

However, despite all, Kumble was a great leader, as he won matches for RCB; under him, they made it to consecutive knockouts and also to the final of 2009. Kumble has led RCB in 35 games with 16 losses and 19 wins recorded, thus having the highest win percentage of 54.28%.

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