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Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar is just one victory away from joining an elite list of IPL captains who have successfully defended their title. If RCB beat Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final on Sunday, Patidar will join MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as the only skippers to achieve the feat.

However, the 32-year-old made it clear that he is not looking to follow anyone else's path and would rather stay true to himself as a leader.

Having guided RCB to their maiden IPL title in 2025, Patidar now has an opportunity to add another chapter to the franchise's history. But ahead of the summit clash in Ahmedabad, the skipper insisted that comparisons with former great captains are not on his mind.

Rajat Patidar wants to stay true to his own leadership style

Patidar said his focus has always been on remaining authentic rather than changing himself because of the captaincy role.

"Every captain wants to win trophies. But I never change myself because it's important to be yourself. That's what I've focused on. Even if I'm a captain, it doesn't mean I have to do anything different."

The RCB captain also stressed that he has never viewed leadership as a competition against former captains and is solely focused on doing his best for the team.

"So, I've never thought about what a captain has done before and whether I want to compete with someone or not. As an individual, my journey has been a rollercoaster ride. Wherever I live, I focus on what I can do best."

"I've never thought about moving forward or going back. If I'm here, I'm just focussing on what I can do before the final, and tomorrow is the final, so we'll try to give our best."

Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have helped him grow as captain

Patidar acknowledged the role senior players have played in helping him settle into the leadership role at RCB.

"There are a lot of learnings, especially off the field and on the field, there are a lot of helping hands. There are a lot of experienced players, from whom I'm getting a lot of good ideas. So, I'm trying to understand those ideas and apply them to the game."

'Not thinking about India captaincy'

Patidar has established himself as one of the most successful captains in franchise cricket over the last two seasons, but he insisted that thoughts about representing India or leading the national side are not occupying his mind.

The RCB skipper said his entire focus remains on the task at hand.

"I'm not looking forward to any selection regarding India. I don't visualise to be the T20 captain of India."

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