RCB’s predicted XI vs KKR, IPL 2025: Josh Hazlewood is a sure-shot started. But can the franchise afford to play another overseas bowler?
Will this be the year for Royal Challengers Bengaluru? That’s the question on the lips of the RCB faithful, who always enter the new IPL season with so much hope, but more than a touch of paranoia having watched this team implode in various ways. After a special campaign last season, looking dead and buried only to come back to life breathing fire, it’s time for another full reset in Bengaluru. The last cycle was a pretty successful one as RCB competed for the playoffs regularly, but they now aim to go one step further, and for the higher-ups, that meant building right back from the ground up.
RCB will take on KKR in the tournament opener on Saturday. (PTI)
Their opponents for the IPL 2025 opener, Kolkata Knight Riders, have seven or eight players from last year who make their return this time around. It is a very different story for Bengaluru, who only kept three. Their hero and adopted son Virat Kohli still a larger-than-life presence, fresh off an orange cap campaign last year. At the helm of this team is a different Indian batter, as Rajat Patidar’s journey as captain begins at the Eden Gardens.
Opening with Kohli at the top will be a player fiercely intimate with batting in Kolkata, as Phil Salt makes the jump over to the red of RCB, where he will also don the gloves. RCB might then look at Liam Livingstone, a big-money buy, to come in and bat at three. While the big Englishman has been profiled as a finisher for many, his greatest success in T20 cricket has often come up the order, such as in The Hundred. With Livingstone and Patidar at three and four, there is plenty of power in the middle order already, a duo capable of keeping the score ticking along nicely.
Jitesh Sharma provides another domestic batting option at 5, and will be that link between the middle order and the power hitters later on. Potentially, Krunal Pandya could also play this role, providing a left-handed pinch-hitting option if matchups come into play, especially against the spin of Chakravarthy and Narine.
The biggest quandary for RCB is deciding who that number six/seven overseas big bat is. Tim David has the highest ceiling but hasn’t impressed in the IPL. Jacob Bethell is a promising lefty, but a lack of experience at this stage is a concern. Finally, Romario Shepherd is capable of hitting bombs and provides an extra pace option as well. This could be a problem of plenty for RCB, but it does mean they have depth and options in a difficult position to fill.
Then come the bowlers. Yash Dayal was the only bowler RCB kept hold of, showing their faith in the left-armer. Dayal will form a three-man pace attack with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and if fit, Josh Hazlewood. This is a unit that has consistency, experience, and T20 smarts, even if it isn’t raw pace like many teams have opted for. Pace has historically been a problem area for RCB, and this is a salve, with Rasikh Salam, Lungi Ngidi, and Nuwan Thushara in the wings.
The spinner will like by Suyash Sharma, who impressed at KKR, or potentially Swapnil Singh, either of whom could also be that impact player and helped out by Krunal Pandya’s experience, as well as Livingstone. It’s not an attack that inspires as much confidence as Varun-Narine, but it remains a capable one nonetheless.
RCB likely XI vs KKR
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (wk), Liam Livingstone, Rajat Patidar (c), Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma.
