IPL 2025 Season Faces Suspension as RCB Players Return Home

IPL Teams Begin Sending Players Home Amid Suspension

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season is facing an unexpected suspension, prompting teams to start sending their players back home. Fans were taken by surprise when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) shared a video announcing the news. Just prior to the break, RCB's captain Rajat Patidar suffered a wrist injury. Footage released last week showed Patidar wearing a splint on his arm, leading to wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma stepping in as captain for RCB's match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) scheduled for May 9 at the Ekana Stadium.

Jitesh Sharma Reflects on Captaincy Opportunity

In the video, Jitesh expressed his gratitude for the chance to lead RCB, stating, "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. And as per the position we were on the points table, we would have won this game. All of this was going on in my head and all the meetings with coaches and players in those 2-3 days, batting order, discussions with bowlers. I had good fun."

National Priorities Affect IPL Schedule

In the same video, RCB acknowledged the importance of national priorities. With escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the IPL may face a further delay of one week. If this occurs, Patidar could recover in time, which would mean Jitesh would miss out on the unique chance to captain the team.

RCB's Commitment to Fans

𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵! 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴. 🫡

Happy memories from the season so far, but the dream is yet to be complete… we’ll be back, 12th Man… pic.twitter.com/rjLPTI1tDy

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2025

Jitesh Sharma's Performance and Leadership Aspirations

So far in the IPL 2025 season, Jitesh has scored 128 runs across eight innings with an impressive strike rate of 142.22. He has played crucial roles in the lower middle order and has been effective as a wicketkeeper. In 2024, he had his first taste of captaincy when Punjab Kings faced Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match, where he scored 32 runs off 15 balls, but unfortunately, the team finished ninth on the points table.

Before the IPL 2025 season commenced, Jitesh discussed the prospect of leading RCB in a podcast with Cricxtasy, sharing his thoughts on the pressures and excitement that come with the role.

He remarked, "No, I never thought about it [captaincy]. Frankly speaking, I never even considered that I was being looked at for captaincy. If I were in RCB management, I would have chosen Rajat too—he deserves it. He is RCB’s guy and has done service for them for years now. I just joined now. I can help as a senior, since Rajat and I both belong to the Central Zone and have played cricket together. We already have a strong bond. And all the Indian players in RCB will support him as well."