The Indian Premier League (IPL) is about to begin a new season. On Saturday, March 22, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will play the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the famous Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The only three IPL clubs to have participated in all 17 seasons thus far without taking home the coveted championship are RCB, Delhi Capitals, and Punjab Kings. Nonetheless, the Bengaluru-based team boasts one of the competition’s most devoted fan following. Even if their preferred team may not have seen victory, they never abandon them and return each year with the same fervour in the hopes of making history.
Over the years, RCB’s bowling attack has suffered.
Is 2025 going to be their year? For the first time, are they able to grasp the title? What lineup does their team have this season? Is it superior than their teams from past seasons? In this post, CricTracker provides solutions to these and other queries.
A new beginning with a new skipper
Rajat Patidar has been tasked with leading the team in the next IPL after demonstrating his abilities as a batsman for RCB in recent years. In 16 T20 matches, the right-handed hitter has served as captain. He has a record of 12 victories and 4 losses. Since Patidar is leading RCB for the first time, he won’t be bringing any baggage with him. He is a cool-headed consumer, which can come in handy when things go tight. The Madhya Pradesh batsman will also be able to rely on Virat Kohli’s experience.
With a lot of confidence, Virat Kohli
Last year, Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap after having an incredible batting season. Given that he enters the tournament fresh off of a successful run for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy, he may have another strong season. In the global tournament, Kohli hit a half-century against Australia in the semi-finals and a century against Pakistan in the group stage. He helped India win the title after a 12-year absence by averaging more than fifty. The management of RCB is hoping that Kohli would be able to play with a lot less pressure than in prior seasons because the team has several batting players who have proven themselves.
Dependable seamstresses
The batsmen are under a lot of pressure since their seamers have scored a lot of runs in the latter part of the innings. However, by bringing in seasoned seamers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have excelled in the league in prior seasons, the management attempted to fix the Achilles heel.
During the powerplay, they can both swing the new ball and take wickets. Because they can bowl slower deliveries and yorkers, they are also dependable choices in the last overs. After his spirits were damaged by the five sixes in the terrible over against KKR in the 2023 IPL, Yash Dayal had a fantastic return the previous season. He was retained by RCB prior to the mega-auction. Along with Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar, he is anticipated to form a strong troika.
Stop depending too much on the top three batters.
For a number of years, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers were in charge of scoring the majority of the runs for RCB in the IPL. The troika of Faf du Plessis, Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell bore the brunt of the pressure during the previous three seasons. But the latter had a terrible batting season, scoring only 52 runs in 10 games. On paper, the batting group appears to have a lot of depth this season.
RCB has Patidar and Kohli in the middle, with the destructive Phil Salt and the gifted Devdutt Padikkal at the top. With Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, and Liam Livingstone anticipated to begin the season, the middle and lower order is strong. The Royal Challengers will be difficult to defeat if they give it their best.
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