Royal Challengers Bengaluru will kick-off IPL 2025 with a clash against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on March 22 - here's the predicted playing XI for RCB including impact player options.
RCB's squad for IPL 2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will step into IPL 2025 under a new captain - Rajat Patidar. Faf du Plessis, who led them between 2022-2024, was let go by RCB, who built a solid squad at the auction.
Their overseas contingent has a strong English presence, with internationals Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell adding to the firepower. RCB also have a strong bowling attack this season, led by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
After losing seven out of their first eight matches, RCB miraculously qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs by winning six games on the trot. They eventually crashed out of the Eliminator. This time, under a new leadership and fresh squad, they'll hope to go the distance.
Find the more details on the complete Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad for IPL 2025 here.
RCB predicted XI for IPL 2025
Salt is expected to partner Kohli at the top with Patidar coming in at No.3, making a formidable top three. Beyond that, they have explosive middle order batters in Jitesh Sharma, Livingstone, and Tim David, as well as an accumulator in Krunal Pandya who can float around the order.
Read more: IPL 2025 power rankings: Punjab Kings the best placed side
RCB have a strong first-choice seam attack in Bhuvneshwar, Hazlewood, and left-armer Yash Dayal, who was retained. Their spin attack is slightly thin with Suyash Sharma burdened with being the frontline spinner alongside Pandya and Swapnil Singh.
For the impact player slot, they can choose Swapnil, who'll provide the left-arm angle as well as lower order hitting ability, on most occasions. If they need an extra seamer, Rasikh Salam would be an option, and in case they suffer a big collapse while batting, Devdutt Padikkal can come in to provide stability.
Predicted first XI: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt*, Rajat Patidar (c), Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone*, Tim David*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood*, Suyash Sharma
Impact player options (in order of priority): Swapnil Singh, Rasikh Salam, Devdutt Padikkal, Manoj Bhandage, Mohit Rathee
*= overseas player
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