Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist reckons RCB will finish last in the IPL 2025 standings.
Adam Gilchrist made quite a prediction for the upcoming IPL 2025, and it will definitely not please the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans. The former Australia wicketkeeper-batter reckons the Bengaluru-based franchise will finish at the bottom of the standings this season. The upcoming 18th edition of the cash-rich league begins on Saturday, March 22, with the opening fixture between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and RCB.
RCB will take on KKR in the IPL 2025 opener on Saturday. (ANI )
The fixture at Eden Gardens is threatened by rain, as an orange alert has been issued for the city. However, before the much-anticipated game, Gilchrist said he believes RCB will come last. While he did say that he has nothing “against” RCB and Virat Kohli fans, he joked that there are just too many “Englishmen” in the squad.
For the uninitiated, RCB picked up the likes of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Phil Salt in the mega auction last year. Salt is likely to open the batting for RCB alongside Kohli.
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, Gilchrist was asked to name his pick who’ll come last and it was then, he said, “I think there’s a fair chance it might be because I’m basing it on the fact that there’s just too many Englishmen in the squad. So, RCB. On the back of having too many Englishmen in there.”
“Nothing against Virat, nothing against their fans. I apologise to the fans, but you’ve got to talk to your recruiting agents,” he added.
Rajat Patidar will captain RCB in IPL 2025. The franchise also has Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the squad.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan predicted that the Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals would be the wooden spooners in the IPL 2025, coming last. When asked to explain his reasoning, Vaughan said that the Delhi-based franchise doesn’t have a “very good team” and lacks high-class Indian batters.
Recently, Delhi Capitals announced Faf du Plessis as Axar Patel’s deputy for the 18th edition of the tournament. The franchise has also roped in Kevin Pietersen as the mentor.
“I just don’t think they’ve got a very good team. My reason is that I believe you need high-class Indian batters to play on those wickets. They’ve got KL Rahul, that’s it, really. Karun Nair and all the rest are Fraser McGurk, Faf du Plessis, and Tristan Stubbs,” Vaughan said on the same podcast.
“I mean, they’ve got Axa Patel probably about in the middle, but they just don’t seem to have enough quality Indian batters,” he added.
Delhi Capitals will begin their IPL 2025 season on March 24 against Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam.
