Canberra, Australia

Virat Kohli was among the three players Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) retained ahead of IPL 2025; despite their picks at the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he remains the top contender to lead the franchise next season. Meanwhile, ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who will play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from next season onwards, answered why he believes Kohli will be back as the RCB skipper.

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Even though RCB bagged the English duo of Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt, they lack options in the leadership group, with Kohli emerging as the only choice left with the franchise. Speaking on the same lines, Ashwin said unless the RCB decides to work on making anyone else the skipper, Virat remains the evident pick for him.

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“In all likelihood, I think Virat Kohli is going to captain that side. That's the feeling I get because they haven't gone for a captain. Unless and until they are going to go with somebody else. I don't see anyone other than Virat as captain,” Ashwin said while talking on his official YouTube handle.

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RCB had a terrific auction

Ashwin praised RCB’s auction strategy this time, saying they had a terrific outing as they played the balancing and waiting game well. He noted that despite having a bigger purse as compared to several teams, they didn’t rush into buying big names, unlike Punjab or Delhi. 

The veteran spinner continued that instead of using RTMs on several top players, the RCB management stuck to their strategy and purchased those who ticked the boxes. 

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“I actually personally think they had a terrific auction. They balanced it and waited it out. Many teams came into this auction with many crores in their purses. They came blazing right in the front, but RCB played the waiting game even though they had a lot of money. Who do I need? They are the ones I need. My overall team is important. My 12 or 14 is important,” Ashwin said.

“What will work in our conditions? I want that sort of a side. I need that team. Even though I have RTMs, I am not going to use them. I will end up picking who I want. I will follow the strategy till the end,” he added.

Besides Salt and Livingstone, RCB bagged Tim David and Josh Hazlewood alongside roping in Jitesh Sharma as the keeper-batter option. Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, and Jacob Bethell are other foreign names to join the RCB squad. 

(With inputs from agencies)