Do Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have a realistic chance of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025? Has the trophy-less team managed to assemble a side worthy of lifting the coveted trophy? Would RCB be good enough without Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, and Will Jacks? How will the injury to Cameron Green or the retirement of Dinesh Karthik affect them? All these questions will be answered, and only then will we be able to assess whether RCB can field an XI worthy of breaking their IPL title curse.
Virat Kohli to be accompanied by Phil Salt
Let’s start with batting. I mean, that’s where RCB has always invested. Their top order is just incredible. Some might say the best in the competition. Virat Kohli, as usual, will open. He’s the league’s high-scorer, and with David Warner going unsold, he’s now also the opener with the most runs as well. He’ll partner up with Phil Salt. The English opener might be the best T20 batter in 2024. Only Travis Head has accumulated more runs than him at a higher strike rate (1442 at 182.07 > 1381 runs at 166.18).
Rajat Patidar has been exceptional for RCB and was one of their three retained players. He’ll continue at number three, where he scored nearly 400 runs. He averaged over 30 last IPL season while his strike rate was a skyrocketing 177.13. If Salt and Patidar fire together at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, bowlers will have to start praying.
Middle-order filled with finishers
Glenn Maxwell might have been poor last season, but in three prior seasons, he was incredible. Losing him along with Mahipal Lomror won’t be easy for RCB. They’ve added Devdutt Padikkal, but his record probably doesn’t even merit a spot. His talent is unquestionable, but his performance has been underwhelming. In 64 IPL matches, Padikkal averages just 25 while striking at 123. The issue is they don’t have anyone else to play.
Swastik Chikara has been poor in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and apart from from, they don’t have a domestic batter. Jacob Bethell should ideally be played at 4, but that would result in a weaker lower middle order. Given how RCB has assembled their squad, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, and Jitesh Sharma will be at 5, 6, and 7. Livingstone might be able to bat at 5, but Jitesh and David are suited to number 7. But, they’ll have to make do somehow.
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RCB’s best-ever bowling line-up despite lack of quality spinner?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, and Rasikh Salam Dar. This might be RCB’s best-ever bowling lineup. They’ve got all three phases (powerplay, middle, and death) covered. However, there is an issue. They don’t have a great spinner. Krunal Pandya’s great, but he isn’t a natural wicket-taker. His role would be to contain runs. He’ll do that aptly, but for middle-order wickets, they’ll have to depend on either Suyash Sharma, who might be used, or Rasikh Salam Dar, both of whom might not fit in the starting XI.
Swapnil Singh offers exactly what Krunal does, and opting for him doesn’t make sense. RCB has Mohit Rathee, who’s untested, and one can’t be sure how he’ll fare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Who’ll be RCB captain for IPL 2025?
Barring Kohli, RCB doesn’t really have a captaincy option. Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have led before but don’t have a great record and were stopgap solutions. There is no other leadership option in the XI. Kohli will have to return to lead the side after 2021.
RCB’s best playing XI for IPL 2025
1.Virat Kohli (c)
2. Phil Salt✈️
3. Rajat Patidar
4. Devdutt Padikkal
5. Liam Livingstone✈️
6. Jitesh Sharma (wk)
7. Tim David✈️
8. Krunal Pandya
9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
10. Josh Hazlewood✈️
11. Yash Dayal
Impact Player: Rasikh Salam Dar/Suyash Sharma
Remaining Squad: Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd✈️, Nuwan Thushara✈️, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell✈️, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi✈️, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
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