RCB coach Flower praises THIS player after maiden title win. Hint: It's NOT Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally managed to win an IPL trophy - first time in 18 years - and coach Andy Flower was full of praise for their new skipper Rajat Patidar. RCB had named Patidar their skipper following the IPL 2025 mega auction following Faf du Plessis' departure from the side.

"One of the most impressive things about what Rajat has done this year is, as an inexperienced captain, that he hasn't been affected by it," Flower said after the win.

"I don't think it has affected his batting because I've watched him really closely as a character, and he is still the lovely, gentle, polite Rajat Patidar that we knew last year. He hasn't changed at all in that regard," he added.

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"Captaining RCB is a really tricky job. If I cast my mind back to how poorly I captained when I was his age, I've got tremendous respect for how he's held himself with all that scrutiny, and captained some big players. You can't underestimate the calmness he showed in leading some really big players, a really big franchise, making good decisions out there in the middle under the pressure that RCB players play under. So I've got tons of respect for him. I'm really proud of the way that he's carried himself, and he's been crucial to us doing well."

Patidar scored 312 runs for RCB in 14 innings at an average of 24 but at a healthy strike rate of 143. He was the enforcer for RCB in the middle order as they went on to win almost all the away matches in the tournament.

Reflecting on the win, Patidar said: "It is really special for me, special for Virat Kohli and all the fans who have supported us for years. So I think they all deserve it. After Qualifier 1, we thought we could do this. I think 190 was a good score on this track because it was a bit slow. The way our bowlers executed their plans, that was tremendous to watch."