 "IPL 2025: Best playing XIIs for KKR, RCB and all the other teams in 18th season of Indian Premier League")
The 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway on Saturday, 22 March, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosting Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening match at Kolkata's Eden Gardens . Before KKR begin their title defence against RCB, the Eden Gardens will witness a star-studded opening ceremony with iconic playback singer Shreya Ghoshal and Punjabi star Karan Aujla performing along with Bollywood star Disha Patani.
That will be followed by the first double-header of the season. Last year’s runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad host Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad before five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians lock horns in a blockbuster clash in Chennai later in the evening.
Teams have undergone major changes over the course of the 10th months with a mega auction having taken place in Saudi Arabia in November. And before the 18th season gets underway, we take a look at the ideal playing combination for all the teams involved.
What are best team combinations for all the 10 teams in IPL 2025 (including Impact Player)?
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock/Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mayank Markande/Anukul Roy
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Henrich Klaasen, Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Baby, Pat Cummins (c), Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Adam Zampa, Rahul Chahar
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Sam Curran, R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Robin Minz (wk), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton/Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal/Shubham Dubey
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (wk), Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar
Punjab Kings: Josh Inglis (wk), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Musheer Khan, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen/Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kuldeep Sen
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Sameer Rizvi/Mohit Sharma.
Gujarat Titans: Jos Buttler, Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Mahipal Lomror
Lucknow Super Giants: Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Moshin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni/Arshin Kulkarni
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
