While Royal Challengers Bengaluru were playing their crucial 13th match of the IPL 2025 against SunRisers Hyderabad in Lucknow, Jitesh Sharma took the captaincy role in the absence of the regular captain Rajat Patidar. As Patidar is injured, we are checking here the top three names who can replace the RCB skipper for the remainder of the IPL 2025, including the Playoffs.

During their match against Chennai Super Kings before the IPL 2025 suspension, RCB captain Rajat Patidar suffered from a finger injury. While there is news of improving status, Patidar missed the match against SRH, although he was in the Impact subs squad. There is no confirmation story about the RCB regular captain's complete fitness. If he is unfortunately ruled out of the tournament, it will surely be a big blow for RCB. 

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IPL 2025: 3 players who can replace RCB captain Rajat Patidar

Harvik Desai: Harvik Desai was unsold in the IPL 2025 Auction. The 25-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batter is yet to make his IPL debut. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, Desai scored 323 runs in eight innings with an average of 40.37 and a strike rate of 152.35, including three half-centuries. In his 35 T20s, the right-handed batter has recorded 1014 runs, including one century and seven half-centuries.  

Mohammed Azharuddeen: Uncapped Mohammed Azharuddeen is also waiting for his IPL debut, who was also unsold in the latest IPL auction. In the IPL 2021 auction, RCB bought him for INR 20 lakhs, but yet to make his IPL debut. While he has recorded one T20 century, he was the first Kerala cricketer to record a century in the Ranji Trophy Semi-finals history during the 2024-25 season. 

Narayan Jagadeesan: The highest run-scorer in List A cricket history, Narayan Jagadeesan, is now a big name in domestic cricket, especially in first-class and List A formats. He has played 13 IPL matches (for Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders), last time in the 2023 season, and scored 162 runs with the highest score of 39 not out. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 preliminary quarter-final, he created history by hitting six consecutive fours in an over. 

The Delhi Capitals (DC) released 11 players before the IPL 2024 auction. They have a budget of 28.95 crores and nine spots available. DC may also sign four foreign players, which is an essential factor.

A few holes in their roster must be filled by selecting the correct combination of players in the IPL 2024 auction. So, here’s a list of the top three likely Delhi Capitals choices in the next mini-auction. 

• Narayan Jagadeeshan

N Jagadeesan was a Kolkata Knight Riders member in the IPL 2023. The Tamil Nadu player saw little action in a squad full of wicketkeepers and openers. He has scored just a mere 89 runs in his six-match campaign.

Given Rishabh Pant’s recuperation, the Delhi Capitals management might consider him one of the choices for their wicketkeeping needs. He is also a safe keeper behind the wickets, and providing Jagadeesan a continuous opportunity to demonstrate his goods will be something to look out for. 

• Murugan Ashwin

Despite some solid performances in the IPL, Murugan Ashwin hasn’t got the proper scope to display his spin talents, especially given his prior affiliations with former organisations. Ashwin has 35 wickets in 44 matches with an economy of 8.01.

His best season came in the IPL 2020 when he took ten wickets in nine games. Among the many Indian spinners, Ashwin has struggled to carve out a place for himself in the IPL. As a result, it is a positive factor for the Delhi Capitals to leverage him for their long-term spin requirements and aid their leading players, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

• Tristan Stubbs

The Delhi Capitals have dropped Phil Salt and Sarfaraz Khan from their team, and they want at least two wicketkeeper bats to replace Rishabh Pant. Pant’s health is questionable, and DC want a middle-order hitter like Stubbs, who can be explosive and keep wickets.

Stubbs has drastically improved and can be deadly with the willow, and also providing support to the budding wicketkeeper, Abhishek Porel. Stubbs was with the Mumbai Indians (MI) but did not have as many opportunities. He is a versatile batter who can bowl useful off-spin, depending on the situation. 

With the recent news regarding the much-awaited 2024 IPL Mini Auction, the list of all the teams has been released, and the cricket fanatics await to see the top players going under the hammer on 19th December in Dubai. 

When we come to the five-time and defending IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings have made some sensible retentions and releases, which made them have six spots vacant in their Yellove arsenal, with three of them open for foreign players.

Having Rs. 31.4 Crore in their purse, the team would be a significant highlight. So, here is a list of top probable buys that the defending champions would go for in the auctions.

• Shahrukh Khan

The swashbuckling batter from Tamil Nadu, Shahrukh Khan, has proved his batting prowess through his role as a finisher, providing some memorable finishes for his former franchise, Punjab Kings.

During his stint with the Punjab Kings, he has proved to be a reliable middle-order batter through his impressive striking. Chennai Super Kings would give a hand in the auction, acquiring the local boy for their squad, and he could be a pivotal element in enhancing the team’s middle order.

• Pat Cummins

With their promising pace attack comprising Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, and Matheesha Pathirana, the team still needs a quality and experienced bowler who can deliver top-class pace and swing. By the release of Ben Stokes, the team has a large sum of money in their purse.

With three overseas spots open, it is a good chance for the team to try for the Aussie speedster Pat Cummins, who would be available for the coming 2024 edition after having a commendable ICC and Ashes stint. As his recent performance suggests, their inclusion would add a cherry to the team’s cake.

• Narayan Jagadeeshan

With a higher probability of seeing our beloved captain cool, MS Dhoni, don the yellow jersey for one final time, the management should focus on having a reliable wicketkeeper batter, and the local boy Narayan Jagadeeshan can be a viable option in their auction game plan.

Though he was a part of the franchise previously and couldn’t get a regular chance to spread his wings for his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, CSK can rely on him and groom this budding wicketkeeper batter for their long-term requirements.

On Monday, Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan performed a supernatural act while holding a bat, earning him a special place in Indian cricket history. The 26-year-old scored a record 277 runs in just 141 deliveries in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. He hit 15 sixes and 25 boundaries. Numerous records were broken by this enormous individual score. He is now the first batsman in history to achieve this feat, as it was his fifth consecutive century in the current domestic tournament.

Within the cricketing community of Tamil Nadu, Jagdeesan is a well-known name. He played for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but prior to his heroics against Arunachal on Monday, he had never been the center of attention.

277 was Narayan Jagadeesan’s highest individual score in men’s List A cricket against Arunachal Pradesh at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

The previous record was 268 set in 2002 by Alistair Brown against Glamorgan. In addition, Jagadeesan’s 277 runs against Pushpadana Ladies in the 2007 Sri Lanka Women’s One-Day tournament surpasses Sripali Weerakkody’s 271 runs. 

1 Jagadeesan became the first male List A cricket player to score a hundred in five consecutive innings. Kumar Sangakkara had four centuries in a row between 2014 and 2015, Alviro Petersen between 2015 and 2016, and Devdutt Padikkal between 2020 and 21. In this match against Arunachal, the first team in men’s List A cricket to score 500 or more runs, Tamil Nadu scored 506 for 2. England’s previous record was 498 for 4 against the Netherlands earlier this year. 

114 balls that Jagadeesan used to score a double century against Arunachal, making him the second-fastest player in men’s List A cricket. Travis Head additionally took 114 balls for his twofold ton against Queensland in the Bog One-Day Cup a year ago.During his 141-ball 277, Jagadeesan’s strike rate of 196.45 was the highest for a double hundred in men’s List A cricket.

The next most noteworthy was 181.1 by Travis Head, when he scored 230 off 127 balls against Queensland in 2021. In this format, none of the remaining 36 double-centuries had a strike rate greater than 175. The first pair in men’s List A cricket to share a 400-run stand for any wicket was 416 runs scored by Jagadeesan and B Sai Sudharsan for the first wicket against Arunachal. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels’ previous record-setting partnership for the second wicket against Zimbabwe in 2015 was 372 runs. In the current Vijay Hazare Trophy, Jagadeesan scored five hundreds, the most by any batter in any competition. Devdutt Padikkal (2020-21), Prithvi Shaw (2020-21), Ruturaj Gaikwad (2021-22), and Virat Kohli each had four hundreds. In his 277-run innings, Jagadeesan hit 15 sixes, the most by any batter in a Vijay Hazare Trophy innings.

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The previous record was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 203 against Jharkhand in the 2019-20 season, when he hit 12 sixes. Jagadeesan scored 799 runs in this tournament, the second most by a batter in a Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. Prithvi Shaw set the record for most runs in an edition with 827 in the 2020-21 season.