It’s Season 18 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and their star man wears the number 18, so ‘Ee sala cup namde?’ That’s how Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been promoting their campaign this time around, so will it happen?
Before the mega auction last year, RCB retained only three players: Virat Kohli, new captain Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal. They then went on to add 19 players from the auction to have one more go at the title.
Despite their issues of not having a solid bowling unit, RCB have been able to reach the playoffs four times out of the last five seasons. This time around, having assembled a decent unit, they will be aiming for nothing less than a playoff spot, with ambitions of going even further.
Another year, another start from scratch for RCB. Here’s an analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, and key takeaways.
RCB IPL 2025 Squad
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd*, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell*, Phil Salt*, Jitesh Sharma, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Nuwan Thushara*, Lungi Ngidi*, Mohit Rathee, Liam Livingstone*, Tim David*, Swapnil Singh
Strengths
A solid power-packed batting line-up has always been RCB’s core strength, and this time around, it is no different. A major boost comes from acquiring the services of English wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt. Even though he had a horrid run over the past couple of months playing in the subcontinent for England, he amassed 435 runs from 12 innings for KKR last season at a strike rate of 182. Given M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has always been a batter’s paradise, RCB would expect the Englishman to get back to his best.
Additionally, he is likely to open with one of the best limited-format batters, Virat Kohli, which can prove to be a very deadly combination going ahead. I shouldn’t be even mentioning his stats, but for the record, he smashed 741 runs last season at an average of 61.75. Hopefully, this helps you comprehend how deadly we are talking about.
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Watch Virat Kohli share his thoughts on this year’s squad, discussing Rajat as the new captain and expressing his excitement to play alongside this talented team only on,… pic.twitter.com/oXpQ2hNRqB
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 12, 2025
These two will most probably be followed by new captain Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal, both of whom will be the fulcrum for this side as they can add to the nightmare on their day. At numbers 5 and 6, they will have two power hitters: Liam Livingstone and Tim David, with Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya in the line-up to take up the role as well.
Additionally, the team has also been able to assemble a set of experienced pacers who can be very vital for them throughout the season.
Weaknesses
The major weakness for RCB is the lack of a frontline spinner in the squad. They heavily rely on their new acquisition, all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who didn’t have the best of IPL 2024, averaging 42.5 and taking only six wickets in 14 matches. There is also Suyash Sharma, who played 13 games for KKR, taking 10 wickets. In his case, he hardly played last season with no wickets to account for.
They also don’t boast a quality Indian pace unit to back Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dayal. These limited resources mean they both will be playing almost every game. They also bought right-arm medium-fast bowler Rasikh Salam Dar for Rs 6 crore, an amount that is a little too hefty for an inexperienced player.
Opportunities
RCB have a good mix of young blood and veterans. It will be interesting to see how they strategise to utilise their overseas and domestic players. They will try to bank on their mindset and tendency to sidestep their critics and shortcomings and still manage to reach the playoffs repeatedly.
Threats
Injury to key overseas and domestic players can seriously hamper their chances of getting their hands on the title one more time. There are serious concerns about the young English all-round sensation Jacob Bethell, who was ruled out of the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy and is likely to be ruled out of the IPL as well. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood’s availability is also under examination.
No quality backup for the Indian pacers is also a cause for concern for them.
Announcing Patidar as the new captain can be a double-edged sword. He has the experience of leading Madhya Pradesh to the finals of SMAT 2024; however, leading a team packed with superstars can be tricky. Then there is the added pressure to deliver with the bat and live up to the expectations of a loyal fan base.
Final Thoughts
It can be a make-or-break season for RCB. With their tendency to get into the playoffs and a strong team on paper, they may sneak into the top four one more time. However, with a lack of backups for key positions and a new captain at the helm, they may once again fall short of lifting the trophy.
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