Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first match of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens. KKR won the title last season, while RCB finished fourth and lost in the Eliminator.

Impact Players: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Manish Pandey: A dependable batter who can come in as an impact player if KKR loses early wickets while batting first.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi: A promising youngster showing an impact when batting second. He played this role the most for KKR's last IPL season, scoring 163 runs in 10 matches.

Mayank Markande: A leg-spinner who can be used as an impact player in the second innings if the team needs a spin.

Vaibhav Arora: A pacer who swings the ball and can be brought in as an impact in the second innings if the pitch helps fast bowlers.

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Impact Players: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

Swapnil Singh: A left-arm spinner who did well last season, taking six wickets in seven games. He also can play with the bat in lower down the order.

Suyash Sharma: A leg-spinner who might come in if the pitch helps spinners. He has played at Eden Gardens before while representing KKR.

Mohit Rathee: A middle-order batter and leg-spinner. In his last two domestic T20 matches, he scored 54 runs and took one wicket.