Three-time IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are hoping to create new IPL history by ending their desperate wait for the IPL trophy under the new captain. RCB will start their IPL 2025 journey in the first game of the tournament, where RCB will face the home side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22. 

Top-order batters

• Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal/Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (Captain)

The leading run-scorer in IPL history and the IPL 2024 Orange Cap winner, former RCB captain Virat Kohli, is still the strongest batting name in the competition. Surely, the right-handed batter will continue to add his historic batting feat in the competition in the 2025 season.

The 24-year-old Devdutt Padikkal returns to RCB, where he shined in his first two IPL seasons by scoring 473 and 411 runs in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, respectively. While he struggled the last few IPL seasons, he returned to good form in recent domestic cricket. 

English cricketer Phil Salt is struggling to perform regularly. He struggled last January and February when England traveled to India for the white-ball series. Salt played a key role for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2024 title-winning journey when the KKR second-leading run-scorer recorded 435 runs in 12 games, including four half-centuries. 

So, we can say that Padikkal and Salt can be used alternatively in the RCB playing XI, while Salt’s appearance will majorly be dependent on RCB’s other strategies with the foreign players. 

Rajat Patidar is set to lead RCB in the IPL 2025. He was the third most run-scorer for his team in the IPL 2024 after scoring 395 runs in 13 innings with an incredible strike rate of 177.13, including five half-centuries. The 31-year-old also recorded the second most runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 (428 runs), including five half-centuries with 81 not out in the Final as the skipper of Madhya Pradesh, where Mumbai won by five wickets.   

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Middle-order batters

• Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya

Although the English cricketer Liam Livingstone is popular for his aggressive batting, especially famous in T20 cricket, he still has to prove his consistency with the bat in challenging Indian conditions. He is also an effective part-time spinner. 

Jitesh Sharma can play the wicketkeeper-batter role. The right-handed middle-order batter is a powerful batter who has an IPL strike rate of 151.13 after 36 innings and a 225 strike rate after six innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25.

The 29-year-old Australian cricketer Tim David is a powerful middle-order batter who likes to deal with sixes. 

Meanwhile, Indian cricketer Krunal Pandya can play a powerful all-rounder role for his team. He is an aggressive middle-order batter, which he has been struggling with in recent times, and a useful left-arm spinner.  

Spinner(s)

• (Krunal Pandya), Suyash Sharma

While RCB don't haven’t big names in the spin bowling options, Krunal Pandya and Liam Livingstone can have to play major spin bowling roles. The 21-year-old uncapped Indian Suyash Sharma can earn big roles, as he recorded 10 wickets in 13 IPL matches for KKR. 

Pacers

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi/Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

The right-arm Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have to play a major role with the ball for RCB, as his experience will be key. 

South African pacer Lungi Ngidi and Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood both are strong names. Hazlewood, who is recovering from injury, has 35 wickets in 27 IPL matches, and Ngidi has picked up 25 wickets in 14 IPL games. Both can be used together in bowling, and in this case, RCB need to rearrange the four overseas names in the playing XI.

The 27-year-old Indian left-arm pacer Yash Dayal is another key Indian name in the RCB squad. He has recorded 28 wickets in 28 IPL matches, including 15 wickets in 14 games in the last IPL season. Dayal was the leading wicket-taker for RCB in the IPL 2024.