The team and its fans begin the season with a lot of hopes, but the tournament ends with numerous unwanted emotions for them. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has the most loyal fanbase but has never been successful in fulfilling the needs of their 12th man in the 17-year-long history of IPL.
The first half of IPL (i.e. initial 9 seasons from 2008-2016) were a bit better for RCB. They never managed to win the trophy but entered the final on 3 occasions (initially in the second season itself). But the biggest heartbreak must be the 2016 season, where they won 6 out of their last 7 group stage matches, won the Qualifier 1 (all thanks to the heroics of AB de Villiers), but fell 8 runs short against SRH in the final. Virat Kohli’s tally of 973 runs in that tournament is still the best by any batsman in any season of IPL.
RCB didn’t qualify for the playoffs in the next three seasons, but are on a roll with four qualifications in the last five seasons. However, they never managed to get past Qualifier 2. They must take their last season’s performance (they won the last six group matches to qualify at 4th position) as an inspiration to perform better this season.
Squad Preview
Every time an auction is held, RCB is always available to surprise the cricket world with its retention or picks. This time, they began in the retention phase itself, where they didn’t retain their main pacer, Mohammed Siraj, and neither did they use an RTM card for him. RCB retained their icon Virat Kohli alongside Rajat Patidar (captain for the 2025 season) and Yash Dayal.
The RCB batting lineup will feature Devdutt Padikkal’s return at the top order this season. Rajat might bat in the middle order with Liam Livingstone. Their finishing is also sorted with the presence of Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Krunal Pandya in the lower order. Romario Shepherd is also available as the backup player with Jacob Bethell and Swastik Chikara.
Fast bowling has been a problem for the RCB for many seasons. But it looks like they have found a way to escape this problem. They bought the experienced duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood for over 20 crores, while Yash Dayal was already retained prior to the auction.
Spin bowling might be a matter of concern for RCB because Krunal Pandya might be the lone spinner in the starting 11. Tim David and Liam Livingstone can also roll their arms, but will they be effective on Bengaluru’s pitches? Suyash Sharma has done well with KKR in previous seasons and might play as an impact player.
Strengths
Varied Pace Attack: RCB has invested hard when it comes to their fast bowlers, and it shows in the end product. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the quintessential New Ball bowler, whereas Rasik Dar played as a Death specialist for the Capitals last year. Josh Hazlewood is the ultimate jack of all trades, whereas uncapped retention Yash Dayal brings the left arm angle into play. Apart from this, they have someone like Nuwan Tushara as a backup.
Pace Hitting: Kohli and Salt at the Top, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, and Tim David in the end overs; all of them are magnificent pace hitters at their best. Everyone has struck at over 140 since 2022 against pace bowling (except Kohli 137), while three of them striking at over 150; add to the fact that Paitdar, who is commonly assumed to be a spin basher (he is obv one of the best in that department) strikes at 168 against all types of pace bowling since 2022.
Weaknesses
Spin Bowling: As discussed in the squad preview section, RCB failed to upgrade their key weakness of last year; spin department, and some may argue that they made it even worse. Last year, they were playing with a proper spinner who couldn’t perform up to the mark, but this time, their probable xii consists of Krunal Pandya, a bowling all-rounder, as their main spinner, who, for context, picked up almost 1 wicket in every 2 games (0.5 wickets per game) and Liam Livingstone, a batting all-rounder who bowled 12 overs in 7 games in last season while almost maintaining the same wickets per match.
Lack of Form for Middle and Lower Order: An age-old issue for the franchise seems to have crept up once again. Jitesh, Liam, and Tim David had terrible IPL seasons the previous year, while Liam, especially, has had a horrible run in internationals recently.
