Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are currently taking on Sunriser Hyderabad in the 65th match of the IPL 2025 on May 23 (Friday) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. At the toss, fans were in for a surprise as it was not Rajat Patidar, but young wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma who came out as the captain of RCB alongside SRH skipper Pat Cummins.

Rajat Patidar suffered an injury to his finger in the IPL 2025 match between RCB and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The extent of the injury was such that it was reported that he has been ruled out for the remainder of the IPL 2025. This injury is the reason that he is not playing in the regular playing XI for RCB tonight. In his place, it is Jitesh Sharma who is captaining the side

In the game between RCB and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) that was supposed to be held on May 13, Rajat Patidar was already ruled out due to injury. Jitesh Sharma who was set to lead the franchise in his absence. Jitesh himself confirmed this in a conversation on the RCB Diaries show on YouTube

"I was very grateful for the opportunity given to me. They were giving me an opportunity to captain RCB and it's a very big thing for me and my family. I was thinking of what the right combination would be because both Devdutt [Padikkal] and Rajat were not available, and it was a big responsibility to replace them," Jitesh said.

Even though he is not captaining the side vs SRH, Rajat Patidar will play a role in the match for RCB. At the toss, Jitesh Sharma confirmed that he will play in the side as an impact player, meaning that he will only come out to bat.

This means that Patidar is fit enough to bat, but has not yet been cleared for fielding.

Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Lungi Ngidi, Suyash Sharma

Impact Subs: Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Dar Salam, Jacob Bethell, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh