IPL 2025: 3 STRENGTHS AND 2 MAJOR WEAKNESSES OF ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU

Spin is RCB’s main weakness. They are heavily reliant on bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya. Notably, Pandya was dismal last season, averaging 42.50 and taking six wickets from 14 matches. The season before that, he picked nine scalps at 34.77...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are still awaiting their maiden Indian Premier League crown, and 2025 is once again a vital season for the side. In four of the last 5 seasons, RCB have reached the playoffs before faltering. Building on this, RCB will be keen to go strong and long. The IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah on November 25 and 26, respectively, saw RCB assemble a decent squad. There were a few hits and misses in terms of recruitment but the Challengers will feel they have the resources to come good.

RCB, who moved away from skipper Faf du Plessis, are all set to return to Virat Kohli to take up the reins once again. This is after they failed to land captaincy options at the auction. Many would feel RCB not going the distance for KL Rahul was a blip. Similarly, the side didn’t go for former spin ace Yuzvendra Chahal, who moved to Punjab after being released by Rajasthan Royals. The biggest surprise was them not using RTM for Will Jacks. He ended up as a bargain buy for the Mumbai Indians. RCB are once again a side that has plenty of new faces. So, once again, it’s a start from scratch. It remains to be seen how Kohli can get this side to perform consistently and deliver results. Here, we present the strengths, weaknesses, and takeaways from the RCB IPL 2025 squad.

RCB retained just three players ahead of the auction and then bought 19 players over 2 days. Notably, their two RTM cards were left unused.

RCB RETAINED PLAYERS LIST: Virat Kohli (Rs. 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (Rs. 11 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs. 5 crore).