Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma was going to captain the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the now-suspended game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 2025 edition of the IPL. The tournament was halted midway because of the escalating border tensions between India and Pakistan, which hit closer to home in Dharamsala when the match was abandoned following blackouts in several areas in the vicinity of the border.
The regular skipper Rajat Patidar had suffered an injury during RCB’s previous game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and was unlikely to feature in the Friday clash in Lucknow. However, the temporary suspension of the IPL might give some time to Patidar to heal completely. If not for the untimely disruption midway during the tournament, Jitesh would have become the ninth player to lead RCB in the IPL.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity they were bestowing on me that I was going to captain RCB and it’s a big thing for me and my family,” Jitesh said on RCB’s ‘Break Message’ video. “As a player and as a captain, I was thinking about the right combination as Devdutt and Rajat were unavailable and replacing them would have been a big responsibility for sure. And with the position we were on the points table, if we had won this game…
“All of this was going on in my mind. In the last 2-3 days, meetings with coaches, players, a lot of thinking on the batting order and all, discussions with the bowlers – I had good fun,” Jitesh added.
Former India batter, Wasim Jaffer had alluded something related to this during one of the Timeout episodes for ESPNCricinfo where he mentioned that Jitesh was one of the contenders for RCB captaincy after Faf du Plessis wasn’t bought back but the management and Virat Kohli was keen to have Rajat Patidar take up the role after how he performed in charge of Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
RCB are already on 16 points. One more win would have confirmed their spot in the playoffs and with the ceasefire announced, it could be a reality soon as the BCCI prepares for a swift resumption.