The mega auction for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is less than a fortnight away. All eyes are on one of the most popular franchises - Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) - as they need a captain for the next cycle. They have released Faf du Plessis who led them in the last three editions and with the former South Africa skipper being 40 already, it seems unlikely that they will go for him in the auction. Reportedly, Virat Kohli is likely to take back the captaincy mantle again but nothing is confirmed yet. Hence, we look at three players RCB might look for at the auction as captain:
1. KL Rahul
It looks absolutely certain that RCB will look to secure KL Rahul's services at any cost at the auction. He is a local boy and knows the home ground of RCB, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru thoroughly in terms of conditions which will work in favour of the franchise. Moreover, Rahul has captaincy experience in the mega league which makes him a prime candidate to get picked in the RCB side. His camaraderie with Virat Kohli at the top of the order can work wonders for them.
2. Jos Buttler
RCB tend to bid aggressively for star players at the auction. Jos Buttler is one of them available at the event having been released by Rajasthan Royals. Buttler is the captain of England in white-ball cricket and has also led his country to the T20 World Cup title in 2022. Buttler recently came back from injury after missing all cricket since June and looks fitter than ever. He is a perfect captaincy candidate and there is every chance of RCB going after him.
3. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer is the first captain in the history of IPL to be released by his team despite winning the trophy in the previous edition. At the base price of Rs 2 crore, the Indian cricketer is looking for a new team now. There will be demand for him definitely having won the IPL earlier this year for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). RCB might certainly go after him as he can give them a good support in the middle-order at number four after Rajat Patidar and also lead the team with Kohli assisting him.
