Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have named Rajat Patidar as the new captain for the IPL 2025 . Virat Kohli, the former captain and iconic figure of RCB, congratulated Patidar on his appointment, adding that he has earned the captaincy of the team.

Virat Kohil congratulated Patidar :

The Kohil stated that Patidar has earned the right to lead the team. He said that taking the franchise forward is a great honor and backed Patidar to grow stronger in his leadership journey. Kohli also praised Patidar’s evolution as a player over the past two years.

VIRAT KOHLI CONGRATULATING RAJAT PATIDAR ON RCB CAPTAINCY.

- What a beautiful video! ❤️pic.twitter.com/mSQcqdXjYa

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 13, 2025

Virat Message to Patidar as a new captain :

ALSO SEE :  Watch Now: RCB’s Special Tribute Video for Captain Rajat Patidar!

"Rajat, firstly, I want to congratulate you, wish you all the very best, and to tell you that the way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you have really made a place in the hearts of all the fans of RCB all over India, and they get really excited to watch you play. So, this is very well deserved. And I want to tell you that myself and the other team members will be right behind you, and you'll have all our support to grow into this role. Of course, it's a big responsibility. I've done this for many years and Faf's done it for the last few years and to be seen as the guy who will take this franchise forward. I'm sure it's a huge honour for you, and I'm very, very happy for you. You have earned the right to be in this position, and I'm sure you will grow from strength to strength. I've seen Rajat evolve in the last couple of years as a player. He's got the chance to play for India. His game has improved many levels in the last couple of years. The way he has led his state team as well, and the responsibility that he's taken, and he's shown everyone that he has what it takes to lead this amazing franchise. I just wish him all the very best, and I would request all the fans to show him absolute support, get right behind him, and know that he will always and always do what's best for the team, what's best for this franchise, and we must all get together and support him because. Regardless of what happens, who does what, the most important thing is the team and the most important thing is the franchise, and we all have a responsibility to work towards the growth of this amazing team and this amazing franchise. Sending my best wishes to him and sending all the fans lots of love and looking forward to seeing you all soon and looking forward to have Rajat start off the season," said Kohli.

Rajat Patidar has been appointed captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for IPL 2025, which begins on March 21. The announcement was widely expected that it would be Virat Kohli who leads RCB once again.

Patidar Captain Experence :

Patidar, 31, was one of three players RCB retained ahead of the mega auction in November. While this will be his first captaincy stint in the IPL, he captained his state team Madhya Pradesh in the 2024-25 seasons of the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.

RCB SPECIAL VIDEO FOR CAPTAIN RAJAT PATIDAR 👑 pic.twitter.com/jBXeQpgDb7

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 13, 2025

RCB have not won the IPL title yet, though they have been finalists three times, the last of which was in 2016. They have made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including in 2024.

ALSO SEE : IPL 2025: RCB announce captain

Virat on Rajat Patidar  :

“Rajat, I want to congratulate you, the way you have grown in this franchise, you have made a place in the heart of fans of RCB all over India. This is very well deserved, I tell you that myself and the other team members will be right behind you,” says Virat Kohli. “Show him absolute support, get right behind him, he will always do what's best for the team, best for the franchise.”

Three-time IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have announced their captain for the upcoming IPL 2025 season. Rajat Patidar is the new captain for RCB for the IPL 2025. 

It will be the first time that Rajat Patidar will lead an IPL team. He has led the Madhya Pradesh T20 team in 16 matches, and recently, he led the team to finish as the runners-up in the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season (2024-25), as his team lost the Final against Mumbai last December.  

Rajat Patidar is a strong name for RCB 

Since 2021, Patidar has played 27 IPL matches, where the right-handed batter has scored 799 runs with an average of 34.73 and a strike rate of 158.84, including one century and seven half-centuries. For RCB, he is a strong name in the top and top middle order. During IPL 2022, when RCB faced Lucknow Super Giants in Kolkata, the right-handed batter hit his maiden IPL century (112* in 54 balls).

In the last IPL season (IPL 2024), Patidar was the third leading run-scorer for RCB with 395 runs in 13 innings with an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of 177.13, including five half-centuries. He was very consistent in that IPL season, while the right-handed batter also smashed 33 sixes in that IPL season, only behind Virat Kohli (38 sixes) in the list of most sixes by RCB batters in the IPL 2024.

Watch Now: RCB’s Special Tribute Video for Captain Rajat Patidar!

Rajat Patidar became the eighth captain for RCB

Patidar became the eighth RCB captain and the fourth Indian among them. As an RCB captain, Patidar is the successor of Faf du Plessis, who wasn't retained in the squad for the upcoming season and ultimately moved to Delhi Capitals during the mega auction. 

Former RCB captains

The much-anticipated RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit powered by Leaders, set to happen on March 14-15, will showcase a power line-up of great speakers from sports, business, and governance spheres.

The summit, well known for interactive discussions on sport innovation, leadership, and trends in commerce, will host cricketing icon from India, and one of its biggest stars - Virat Kohli, as a key player for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kohli would share his perception of modern cricket, athlete leadership, and a changing sports world.

🚨 RCB INNOVATION LAB - Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders 🚨

Virat Kohli will be one of the speakers in the Programme on March 14 & 15. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/V6PYREs1vR

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 11, 2025

Notable Speakers

ALSO SEE : Rohit Sharma sets special record which Kohli and other stars are dreaming

The line-up of speakers includes some of the most influential figures from across the sports and business spectrum:

Virat Kohli – International cricket icon and RCB star

Mr. Amitabh Kant – G20 Sherpa, Government of India & Former CEO of NITI Aayog

Mr. Jayant Chaudhary – Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship & Minister of State for Education

PR Sreejesh – Former Indian Hockey Captain and Paris 2024 Olympic Medalist

Nick Brown – Senior Vice President, Commercial, FIFA

Moya Dodd – Lawyer & Sports Governance Expert, Former FIFA Executive Committee Member

Karthik Balagopalan – Managing Director & CEO, Puma India

Scott Melvin – CEO, The Overlap

Siddharth Patel – Managing Partner, CVC Capital Partners

Michele Ciccarese – Commercial and Marketing Director, Serie A

Darren Henry – Chief Commercial Officer, British Cycling

🚨 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽: 𝗥𝗖𝗕 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗯 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 🚨

Here’s our first star-studded set of speakers for this year’s Summit happening on 14-15 March:

𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝗼𝗵𝗹𝗶
India and… pic.twitter.com/IeDq6jINrX

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) February 11, 2025

 Expect on RCB Innovation Lab  :

ALSO SEE :  Bad News for Cricket Fans: IPL 2025 Tournament Faces Delay

The RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit has been one  of thought leadership in sports, bringing in global minds that discuss critical issues such as the commercialization of sports, the development of athletes, technological changes, and governance. With industry stakeholders participating this year, there is a deep happening with sports business and innovation.

Topics for discussion will vary from the emergent sports trend to investment strategy in the sports industry and, most importantly, the role of leadership in defining the future of sports in India and around the world.

The excitement of this event builds up as March approaches. Be it an athlete, business leader, sports enthusiast, or an aspiring professional in the industry, this summit presents an unmissable opportunity to gain invaluable insights from the best in the field.

While the Indian bowlers completely dominated in the Kolkata T20I over the English batters, it is a new tense sign for the IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) fans as three of their English batters completely failed in the first innings of the match.

Although the English captain Jos Buttler provided a good start, the other English batters had no answer for the Indian bowlers. English cricketers Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell are RCBians, and all of them had hard luck on Wednesday night.

Phil Salt scored a duck

Opener Salt couldn’t open the scoreline as Arshdeep Singh delivered a short ball and an extra bounce resulted in Salt’s dismissal after the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson comfortably took the catch. It was just the third ball of the match while England were 0/1. 

Also Watch: Varun Chakravarthy's double put India in strong position

Liam Livingstone also scored a duck; Jacob Bethell struggled

Liam Livingstone scored a two-ball duck as the in-form spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled him. The new RCBian Jacob Bethell failed to help the visitors from the tough situation and his clueless batting disturbed the English skipper’s fighting flow. It was Hardik Pandya who dismissed Bethell for seven off 14 balls. 

England were all out for 132 runs in 20 overs

Indian bowlers dominated in England innings as England were all out for 132 runs in 20 overs. While the skipper Buttler scored fighting 68 off 44 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes, Harry Brook (17) and Jofra Archer (12) were the only other English batters with double-digit scores in that innings. 

Among the Indian bowlers, Varun Chakravarthy got three wickets (3/23), while Arshdeep Singh (2/17), Axar Patel (2/22), and Hardik Pandya (2/42) bagged two wickets each.  

Later, Abhishek Sharma's dominant batting, as he scored 79 off 34 balls, guided India to reach the target in 12.5 overs after losing three wickets. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is still yearning for their first Indian Premier League title, and 2025 will be another critical season for the team. In four of the previous five seasons, RCB has made the playoffs before collapsing. Building on this, the courageous army will be eager to go strong and long. The IPL 2025 Mega Auction in Jeddah saw RCB construct a decent yet fascinating lineup.

The loyal fanbase-supported squad is once again a team with several fresh faces. So, once again, we're starting from zero. It will be interesting to see if they would go to their veteran, Virat Kohli and persuade this team to play regularly and produce results that need to be seen or go for a new captaincy take in the form of Rajat Patidar, who was phenomenal in the domestic cricket space. Here, we present the two strengths and one weakness that can be taken away from the IPL 2025 RCB squad. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 2025 IPL Squad: Virat Kohli, Rajit Patidar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Swastik Chikara, Manoj Bhandage, Abhinandan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee

2 Strengths:

Strong top and middle-order batting unit

This season, they have a good lineup for batting is RCB's strength. RCB's bases are covered from start to end. What RCB did well was to get Phil Salt. He was a revelation for the Kolkata Knight Riders last season. With Salt in charge, RCB may expect a quick start this season. Salt will begin with Kohli, and the two may create a lethal combination. The opening duo can complement each other, especially given the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium's limited dimensions.

Rajat Patidar is another towering figure who can bat at number three or four. He can serve as the side's fulcrum. England's Liam Livingstone stands out at number five with tremendous hitting power. The side's finishers include Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, and Tim David. Jacob Bethell is the player on the bench with the most potential to make an impact. He is one of the players to watch out for this season, showing promise through his recent international performances. 

Experienced fast-bowling campaigners

RCB's main-pace assault is potent and lethal, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Josh Hazlewood among the players. Bhuvi will effectively use his experience. Hazlewood will provide substance as well. Left-arm bowler Yash Dayal, who was renowned for conceding five sixes in the penultimate over against Rinku Singh of the Kolkata Knight Riders when playing for the Gujarat Titans, has shown to be a valuable asset for RCB and will continue to be. His return is nothing short of an inspiring piece.

Even the likes of Rasikh Salam Dar, who was bought for a colossal INR 6 Crores in the Mega Auction, can play a pivotal role with his emerging potent pace. Nuwan Thusara and Lungi Ngidi are essential players on the bench who can take over if Hazlewood or any of the primary bowlers are rested, citing an injury. 

1 Weakness:

Lack of a frontline spinner

Spin is probably the only biggest weakness for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They rely heavily on Krunal Pandya, a bowling all-rounder. Pandya struggled the previous season, averaging 42.50 and collecting six wickets in 14 matches. Pandya is not the type of bowler who can take 15 or more wickets in a season, as many other teams' spinners do, but can probably hinder the momentum of the opposition batters.

Suyash Sharma, RCB's second spin option, is set to play with Pandya. Suyash, a promising spin prodigy, played a few games for KKR, getting 10 wickets in 13 games. So, it's all about their inexperience, but only time will tell how they will unfold with their spinmeister tricks. Overall, their spin assault may or may not make it through.

In a recent event, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was in an awkward moment where he hilariously dragged Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Recently, Ruturaj Gaikwad was present at the INFYusion event hosted by Infosys in Bengaluru, where his mic was suddenly turned off. When the presenter was querying about the incident, the CSK skipper hilariously said that it might be done by an RCB fan.

Here are the scenarios of that event

Presenter: What's happening here? Who turned off Ruturaj Gaikwad's mic?

Ruturaj: Maybe an RCB fan.

Presenter: What's your favorite IPL moment?

Ruturaj: My first match as captain, and we won that match against RCB.

He has taken these RCB related incidents personally which has happened after 18th May🥶🥶..
He's gonna cook this IPL..
Mark my words 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/3ZZDls3oeE

— Mahi Way (@NamahShivaay108) December 19, 2024

See Also: Virat Kohli's childhood coach drops a bombshell

RCB vs CSK battle in the IPL 2024

Just before the beginning of the IPL 2024, Ruturaj Gaikwad was chosen as the new captain of Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful IPL teams. The Indian cricketer started his IPL captaincy journey with the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chennai, where CSK won by six wickets. It was the first game of the IPL 2024, and the defending champions confidently started the tournament under new leadership.

Defending champions CSK were in a do-or-die situation in the last league stage game of the IPL 2024 against RCB at Bengaluru. It was a tight contest between RCB and CSK, where RCB scored 218/5, but they needed to stop CSK at less than 200 runs to qualify for the playoffs; CSK would qualify for the playoffs by scoring 200 or more runs. The match went to the last over, where CSK scored 191/7 and RCB booked their spot for the playoffs.

IPL 2024 most runs also experienced RCB vs CSK battle

In the IPL 2024, while the former RCB captain Virat Kohli finished as the leading run-scorer with 741 runs, CSK skipper Gaikwad scored 583 runs and finished as the second-most run-scorer in the tournament. 

After the thrilling and unforgettable mega auction, all ten teams are set for IPL 2025. It is now time for team analysis and to choose the best and worst teams before the beginning of the IPL 2025. While some franchises have impressed on the mega auction table, some franchises have disappointed despite buying talented players. Let's look at the Cricketwinner ratings of all the 10 squads

1. Gujarat Titans

After some good retentions (Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tiwari, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan), IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans battled hard to secure Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, and Prasidh Krishna. The retained and top-signed players love to dominate in their respective duties. Moreover, GT added more good all-rounders like Glenn Phillips, Sherfane Rutherford, Karim Janat, Washington Sundar, etc. Overall, the franchise has built up a well-balanced team for the IPL 2025, as there is hardly any gap. 

GT full squad for IPL 2025: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Sherfane Rutherford, Gerald Coetzee, Glenn Phillips, Sai Kishore, Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Kumar Kushagra, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Team rating: 8.5/10

See Also: IPL 2025: Top 5 Shocking Unsold Star Players in the IPL history

2. SunRisers Hyderabad

IPL 2016 champions and IPL 2024 runners-up SunRisers Hyderabad set a new example of dominant batting in the last IPL season. We can expect the same in the IPL 2025 as most of the key batters are retained in the squad along with the skipper and pacer Pat Cummins. Apart from some strong all-rounder names, SRH also have strong pacers and spinners. It seems that the franchise has built up another well-balanced T20 side. 

SRH full squad for IPL 2025:  Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Abhinav Manohar, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Eshan Malinga, Brydon Carse, Sachin Baby, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Aniket Verma, Atharva Taide.

Team rating: 8/10

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

Due to the strong retention and the addition of more regular faces from the auction, the three-time and reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) can maintain their champion charms in IPL 2025. The overseas dominant all-rounders are match-winners (Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell) along with Ramandeep Singh and Venkatesh Iyer. 

Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi are strong names in batting. With Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali, Indian cricketers Varun Chakravarthy and Mayank Markande provide strong spin bowling options. South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje and rising Indian pacer Harshit Rana are two big names in the pace-bowling line-up. 

KKR full squad for IPL 2025:  Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Spencer Johnson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Rovman Powell, Ajinkya Rahane, Umran Malik, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Mayank Markande.

Team rating: 7.5/10

4. Chennai Super Kings

The present Chennai Super Kings squad has many known faces for the Yellow Army fans. Not only their retained players, but also the RTM Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Sam Curran, and Ravichandran Ashwin also have great memories with the team. If the experienced team management can work well with the Indian pace-bowling line-up, the five-time IPL champions can create a new IPL history.

CSK full squad for IPL 2025: Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Noor Ahmad, R Ashwin, Devon Conway, Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Anshul Kamboj, Sam Curran, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Vansh Bedi, Shreyas Gopal, C Andre Siddarth, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shaik Rasheed, Mukesh Choudhary, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

Team rating: 7/10

See Also: IPL 2025: Top 5 Steal Deals from the 2025 IPL Mega Auction

5. Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Three-time IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru have strong batting lineups on top and in the middle. Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, etc. are big names in the RCB batting line-up. The pace-bowling lineup is equally strong with the Indians and overseas names. All-rounders can fill up the spin-bowling gap.   

RCB full squad for IPL 2025: Virat Kohli, Rajit Patidar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Swastik Chikara, Manoj Bhandage, Abhinandan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee

Team rating: 6.5/10

6. Delhi Capitals

Although Delhi Capitals had to release Rishabh Pant, they still have built up a good team for IPL 2025. While the team has strong foreign names in the batting (Jake Fraser-McGruk, Harry Brook, Faf du Plessis, Tristian Stubbs), the Indian batting names are limited to KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel. The team has young talented all-rounders, where Axar Patel has to play an important role. The pace-bowling has strong names, both from India (Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma) and overseas (Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera). Meanwhile, the experienced spinners are Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Axar Patel. 

DC full squad for IPL 2025: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mukesh Kumar, Harry Brook, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera, Donavan Ferreira, Vipraj Nigam, Manvanth Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

Team rating: 6.5/10

7. Mumbai Indians

The five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians are desperate to break their recent inconsistent status. While they retained important names, batting looks strong with the question of its depth and strong replacements. Pace bowlers are very strong with the leading charges of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. All-rounder Mitchell Santner is the only powerful experienced spinner in the team. 

MI full squad for IPL 2025: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Allah Ghazanfar, Mitchell Santner, Ryan Rickelton, Reece Topley, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur.

Team rating: 6/10

8. Punjab Kings

The IPL 2014 runners-up Punjab Kings are desperate to remove their underperformer tag from the IPL 2025, as the team has failed to reach the playoffs the last ten seasons. They have big overseas names Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, and Lockie Ferguson, along with the Indian stars Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal. While there is a lack of Indian alternatives, the PBKS’ success in the IPL 2025 depends on the performances of the Indian cricketers. 

PBKS full squad for IPL 2025: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey.

Team rating: 5.5/10

9. Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants have strong overseas batting options along with Rishabh Pant, whose INR 27 crore bid broke the IPL auction record. Apart from Pant, the franchise’s Indian batting option isn’t strong enough. The team has been filled with young talented Indian pacers and spinners, who need proper guidance in tough times. By looking at the team initially, the franchise hasn’t set up a balanced team for the IPL 2025.   

LSG full squad for IPL 2025: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Mohsin Khan, Rishabh Pant, Avesh Khan, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Akash Deep, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Shamar Joseph, M Siddharth, Himmat Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Digvesh Singh, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Aryan Juyal.

Team rating: 4.5/10

10. Rajasthan Royals

While the inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals have retained strong names, the exclusion of English white-ball captain Jos Buttler was the big blow for Royals. The franchise still has enough explosive Indian batters, and their pace and spin bowling options are fully talented and consistent. While they haven’t any experienced Indian spinners, their Indian pace bowling experience is limited.

RR full squad for IPL 2025: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Nitish Rana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Akash Madhwal, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma.

Team rating: 3.5/10

The three-time IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are desperate to win their first IPL trophy. In the last five seasons, RCB reached the playoffs for four editions. Last season, RCB won only one match in their first eight fixtures but strongly made a comeback and beat the odds to qualify for the playoffs after winning all their last six league stage games. 

RCB retained two capped and one uncapped player ahead of the mega auction. To retain three players, the franchise spent INR 37 crore, as they had INR 83 crore in the purse for the mega auction. 

SEE ALSO: IPL 2025: Ranking all ten teams squads post the 2025 IPL Mega Auction

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Key additions from the mega auction

In the mega auction, RCB spent more than INR 10 crore for four key names, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, English opener Phil Salt, Indian cricketer Jitesh Sharma and pacer Bhuvneswar Kumar. They also have some big all-rounder names in the middle-order batting, like Liam Livingstone, Tim David, and Krunal Pandya. Devdutt Padikkal has returned to the RCB. The other big names in the pace-bowling options are South African Lungi Ngidi and Sri Lankan Nuwan Thusara. 

RCB Full Squad

Batters: Virat Kohli (retained), Rajat Patidar (retained), Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara

Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt (English), Jitesh Sharma

All-rounders: (RTM) Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone (English), Tim David (Australian), Jacob Bethell (English), Romario Shepherd (Guyanese), Krunal Pandya, Manoj Bhandage, Mohit Rathee

Spinners: Suyash Sharma

Pacers: Yash Dayal (retained), Josh Hazlewood (Australian), Lungi Ngidi (South African), Nuwan Thusara (Sri Lankan), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Abhinandan Singh

Brief SWOT analysis

RCB have strong top-order and middle-order batting. The overseas all-rounders have strong strike rates which is appropriate for middle-order batting in T20 cricket. The bowling line-up is new with some big international names. RCB have limited experienced Indian names in pace and spin bowling options. The other Indian names in these categories aren’t experienced. 

RCB Best Possible XI for IPL 2025

Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Tim David/Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi/Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

The 2025 IPL Mega Auction in Jeddah featured a mix of shocks, significant expenditure, and intriguing roster reshuffles. With INR 639.15 crore invested in 182 players, all ten teams took decisive steps to upgrade their squads. From record-breaking acquisitions to savvy deals, here's a team-by-team breakdown of all ten team's auction results.

The recent IPL Mega Auction altered team dynamics, injecting each club with new talent and strategy. Assessing the power of these reconfigured teams requires a careful assessment of their acquisitions, retained players, and potential synergy. That being said, here is a ranking list of all ten franchises' based on their retentions, acquisitions, and overall team structure following the 2025 IPL Mega Auction. 

1. Gujarat Titans

The Gujarat Titans kept their key players and made strategic acquisitions, including Jos Buttler and Mohammed Siraj. Their roster currently appears balanced, with depth in both batting and bowling. GT has a deep batting lineup, but its probable top three - Gill, Buttler, and Sai Sudharsan - are all long-inning batters. Along that, they have support in the form of Glenn Philps, Washington Sundar, and Sherfane Rutherford.

Another strong point for the Titans is their spinners department, which is led by Afghani star Rashid Khan and will feature emerging domestic players. Overall, the 2022 winners have maintained an optimal balance of young Indian and international stars across all departments. 

Gujarat Titans 2025 IPL Squad: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Sherfane Rutherford, Gerald Coetzee, Glenn Phillips, Sai Kishore, Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Kumar Kushagra, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya.

2. Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians kept their Indian superstars, including Naman Dhir, through the Right to Match (RTM) card. Through the auction, they acquired Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma, both of whom have league experience. Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner are previous IPL champions, while Jacks is a highly sought-after T20 power batter.

In addition, no one can forget Will Jacks' outstanding performance in the previous edition for RCB, which will help them strengthen their middle-order unit and could be a potential death-over hitter, making them one of the strongest teams in the forthcoming edition. Again, their combination of youth and experience makes them severe candidates for their sixth IPL title. 

Mumbai Indians 2025 IPL Squad: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Allah Ghazanfar, Mitchell Santner, Ryan Rickelton, Reece Topley, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur.

3. Punjab Kings

Punjab's rebuilt appearance appears menacing, with a new coach (Ricky Ponting) and captain (almost definitely Shreyas). They have five Indian bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, and Vijaykumar Vyshak, and they also have a handful of all-rounders.

Alternatively, they might choose between Lockie Ferguson and Josh Inglis. Their Indian batters - Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, and Nehal Wadhera- add diversity to their intriguing batting attack. With a significant restructuring, it is no surprise for the team to be a dark horse in the forthcoming tournament. 

Punjab Kings 2025 IPL Squad: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey.

4. Chennai Super Kings

As is frequently the case, Chennai Super Kings emerged from the IPL 2025 auction as one of the tournament's strongest teams. A group of spinners, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Noor Ahmed, supported by Gopal, represent the probable circumstances in Chepauk. It remains to be seen if they will take advantage of Jamie Overton's power-hitting ability. But not to forget, they have Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi and their legendary ubiquitous campaigner, MS Dhoni.

Still, they already have all-rounders in Sam Curran, Vijay Shankar, and Deepak Hooda. Also, they have a strong pace unit in Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, and Anshul Kamboj. 

Chennai Super Kings 2025 IPL Squad: Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Noor Ahmad, R Ashwin, Devon Conway, Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Anshul Kamboj, Sam Curran, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Vansh Bedi, Shreyas Gopal, C Andre Siddarth, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shaik Rasheed, Mukesh Choudhary, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

5. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad have a powerful top five and a first-choice bowling attack with a lot of pedigree, but the link between the two is likely untested. Their backup overseas players, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, and Eshan Malinga, have never played in the IPL but have shown potential in recent cricket performances. Though they have ended up as runners-up in the previous edition, the team is determined to scalp their second-ever coveted IPL trophy.

The Cummins-led team has created a new bowling assault that includes the skipper, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat, and Simarjeet Singh, among others, implying that the other nine franchises will face a dangerous bowling attack.  

Sunrisers Hyderabad 2025 IPL Squad: Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Abhinav Manohar, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Eshan Malinga, Brydon Carse, Sachin Baby, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Aniket Verma, Atharva Taide.

See Also: IPL 2025: Top 5 Steal Deals from the 2025 IPL Mega Auction

6. Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bengaluru parted ways with their reliable batters Will Jacks, Maxwell, and du Plessis, but they filled the voids with Salt, Livingstone, and David. Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, and Yash Dayal are possibly the most lethal new-ball pairing. While Jitesh, Krunal Pandya, Jacob Bethell, and Romario Shepherd constitute an explosive middle-order quartet, each plays a secondary role.

Overall, this appears to be one of the more hazardous sides. Meanwhile, the bowling lineup seems complete, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Krunal Pandya, and Rasikh Dar. Overall, while the squad appears poised to compete for the title, RCB might have built a far better foundation, given the available funds.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 2025 IPL Squad: Virat Kohli, Rajit Patidar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Swastik Chikara, Manoj Bhandage, Abhinandan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee

7. Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals have assembled a good team. They utilised the RTM card to repurchase Jake Fraser-McGurk in the auction and paid INR 14 crore for KL Rahul. The pair is expected to start the innings with Harry Brook at number three, Tristan Stubbs at four, and Abishek Porel at five. Mitchell Starc and T Natarajan can wreak havoc, while Kuldeep Yadav can handle spin.

Mukesh Kumar or Mohit Sharma will lead their number XI, resulting in a lethal bowling unit. They do, however, lack some mid-order experience. It's hardly unexpected if Faf du Plessis is picked over Harry Brook, who has a poor IPL record. But, overall, it is a decent arsenal to check for.

Delhi Capitals 2025 IPL Squad: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mukesh Kumar, Harry Brook, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera, Donavan Ferreira, Vipraj Nigam, Manvanth Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

8. Lucknow Supergiants

Lucknow Super Giants had a stunning auction if only the batting unit is considered. Getting Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram in a single auction is a terrific business, especially when the franchise already had Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni in the mix.

They retained Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan, which was a great call and signed Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, M Siddharth, Shahbaz Ahmed and Shamar Joseph, among others. It looks like a good core, but they needed an overseas and experienced fast bowler to complete it and could potentially hinder them.

Lucknow Supergiants 2025 IPL Squad: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Mohsin Khan, Rishabh Pant, Avesh Khan, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Akash Deep, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Shamar Joseph, M Siddharth, Himmat Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Digvesh Singh, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Aryan Juyal.

9. Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders have retained Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Half of their work was done before the auction since all of these players were proven match-winners who had done an excellent job for the franchise.

KKR busted the bank by buying Venkatesh Iyer for a staggering INR 23.75 crore. He turned out to be the third most expensive player in the mega-auction and the most expensive all-rounder ever being brought in the IPL history. To get him, the team had to let go of several of its top players from the previous season. They have signed veteran players, but their performance in the shorter format may put the franchise in jeopardy. 

Kolkata Knight Riders 2025 IPL Squad: Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Spencer Johnson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Rovman Powell, Ajinkya Rahane, Umran Malik, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Mayank Markande.

10. Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals retained Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Sandeep Sharma ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Despite losing Jos Buttler, the batting unit appeared rock-solid. Though Shimron Hetmyer is the sole foreign batter, RR's batting is explosive. They needed great T20 all-rounders in the last cycle, which Hasaranga will have to replace.

With Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag doing their work with the bat, they will most likely bowl more than they have before. The absence of a veteran Indian bowler may be a problem. The team appears bleak and mediocre, with no appropriate backup for key players. They overspent on retentions and missed the trick at the auction table. 

Rajasthan Royals 2025 IPL Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Nitish Rana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Akash Madhwal, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma.