RCB's best playing 11 plus Impact Player after IPL 2025 Auction ft. Virat Kohli & Jacob Bethell
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had an interesting outing at the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The three-time IPL finalists opted to adopt a wait-and-watch approach, and at one point, they had more than twice the purse of most other teams.
RCB caught up soon after, making some big-money signings towards the end of Day 1 and Day 2. They have a decent squad ahead of IPL 2025, although a few weaknesses might compromise team selection.
RCB's squad for IPL 2025: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Mohit Rathee, Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi.
On that note, here is RCB's strongest side, including an impact player, for IPL 2025.
Openers: Virat Kohli (c) and Phil Salt (wk)
Picking RCB's opening pair is a straightforward task. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt, two of IPL 2024's best openers, will form a dangerous partnership at the top of the order. The duo will be tasked with making the most of the powerplay, and opposition fast bowlers won't enjoy bowling to them.
Kohli might also be announced as the captain, with reports suggesting he might be interested in taking over the reins again. There aren't any clear-cut options from RCB's auction signings.
Middle order: Rajat Patidar, Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya
Rajat Patidar, retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, will be their most important player in the middle order.
Bengaluru might also have to pick Jacob Bethell ahead of the likes of Tim David and Romario Shepherd since they don't have a left-hander who can take on spin in the middle overs. That will be one of their key success metrics while playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and even though the young Englishman is inexperienced at the IPL level, they might be forced to take the punt.
New signings Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma will man the middle order as well, with Krunal Pandya following them in the lineup. This would leave RCB slightly thin in the batting department, but they would want to give themselves as many bowling options as possible for their unforgiving home venue.
David and Shepherd are quality T20 players, however, and the Royal Challengers will need to pick the lesser of the two evils.
Lower order: Rasikh Salam, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were RCB's two most important pacer signings at the IPL 2025 auction, and they will add valuable facets to the bowling attack. Rasikh Salam, as someone who can bowl his cutters into the pitch and also bowl at the death, might also make the XII. The retained Yash Dayal could be the team's fourth pace option.
There is the option of dropping Suyash Sharma for an additional batter, namely either Devdutt Padikkal or Swastik Chikara. But having a leg-spinner in the middle overs will be key to RCB's fortunes, and they should place their trust in the uncapped spinner.
Manoj Bhandage and Swapnil Singh, who were part of the squad in the previous campaign, could start on the bench. Playing the former ahead of either Bhuvneshwar or Rasikh is an enticing prospect, but Bengaluru might not be able to afford the drop-off in bowling.