Rajat Patidar’s appointment as Royal Challengers Bengaluru, some seven weeks before the start of Season 18 of the Indian Premier League, was greeted with cautious optimism. After a string of high-profile names at the helm—from Rahul Dravid in 2008 to Faf du Plessis in 2024—Patidar was a different proposition altogether, and with not any great leadership pedigree either.

How would the 31-year-old from Indore shape up? How would he handle a franchise that is among the most popular, but which has yet to win a title after 17 tilts? How would he adjust to having Virat Kohli and Josh Hazlewood, among others, under his command?