 "Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2025 Schedule: Match Dates, Timings, Venues, Squad, Likely XI & More")
The 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to get underway later this week with Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of the season at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens on Saturday. It will be a fresh start for both sides with the two teams having undergone a leadership change between the 17th and the 18th seasons.
While Ajinkya Rahane has assumed charge of KKR, RCB have taken a leaf out of Chennai Super Kings’ book and entrusted Rajat Patidar with the responsibility of fulfilling the franchise’ ultimate dream of lifting the IPL trophy, a dream that they came incredibly close to achieving on three different occasions.
RCB had opted for an overhaul of sorts by retaining just three players – one more than Punjab Kings – ahead of the mega auction in November. Virat Kohli remains integral to the franchise’s existence in the IPL while the decision to retain Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal along with the batting superstar and former captain gave RCB’s fans an idea of what their team’s core group was going to be like in the coming years.
As for RCB's auction buys , the franchise did strengthen their top and middle order by bringing in Phil Salt as an explosive opener as well as wicketkeeper along with Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Jacob Bethell among others.
Also Read | IPL Auction 2025 Review: RCB implement bold strategy but leave bases uncovered
Dayal will also have some world-class support in the pace department with Josh Hazlewood returning to the franchise after two years and Lungi Ngidi also getting picked. The decision to buy Bhuvneshwar Kumar also gives RCB the flexibility to focus their overseas options in the batting order.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru squad for IPL 2025
Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru schedule for IPL 2025
Saturday, 22 March, 7.30 pm: vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata
Friday, 28 March, 7.30 pm: vs Chennai Super Kings in Chennai
Wednesday, 2 April, 7.30 pm: vs Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru
Monday, 7 April, 7.30 pm: vs Mumbai Indians in Mumbai
Thursday, 10 April, 7.30 pm: vs Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru
Sunday, 13 April, 3.30 pm: vs Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur
Friday, 18 April, 7.30 pm: vs Punjab Kings in Bengaluru
Sunday, 20 April, 3.30 pm: vs Punjab Kings in Mullanpur
Thursday, 24 April, 7.30 pm: vs Rajasthan Royals in Bengaluru
Sunday, 27 April, 7.30 pm: vs Delhi Capitals in Delhi
Saturday, 3 May, 7.30 pm: vs Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru
Friday, 9 May, 7.30 pm: vs Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow
Tuesday, 13 May, 7.30 pm: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru
Saturday, 17 May, 7.30 pm: vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru
How Royal Challengers Bengaluru had fared in the previous IPL season
After narrowly missing out on a spot in the playoffs to Mumbai Indians in the previous season, RCB appeared headed towards a bottom-of-the-table finish in IPL 2024, starting off with a six-wicket defeat against then-defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the season-opener in Chennai and losing seven out of eight matches at the halfway stage of the season.
It was their 35-run victory over a red-hot Sunrisers Hyderabad, though, that marked the beginning of an incredible turnaround in the second half of the league stage. From competing with Mumbai Indians for the wooden spoon with their playoff chances nearly over, RCB set off on a six-match winning spree that included back-to-back wins against Gujarat Titans as well as a thrilling 27-run victory over CSK in their final league match – where they had to beat the five-time champions by 18 or more runs to qualify after they were invited to bat.
It was the fourth time in five seasons that RCB made it to the playoffs. And once again they failed to reach the final as Faf du Plessis’ stint as captain ended with a four-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad.
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