Crikey, there is no two ways to do it. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been absolutely tearing it up in this IPL 2025 season, both with the bat and the ball. And for all you millions of RCB fans out there, get this: the big-show T20 league is kicking off again from the 17th of May, 2025! First up, they’re squaring off against the reigning champs, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), right there on home turf at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The bigwigs at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have let us know that the last 17 games of this T20 bonanza will be played across six cities: Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Mumbai. So, in this yarn, we’ll have a squiz at who we reckon will be in the RCB starting eleven and what their chances are of making it to the IPL 2025 playoffs.

Can RCB Finally Snag Their First Trophy in IPL 2025?

Right now, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are sitting pretty in second spot on the IPL 2025 ladder, with a solid 8 wins from 11 matches. The lads, led by Rajat Patidar, are all set to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders when the IPL 2025 action gets back underway. The 2016 runners-up will then be locking horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at their home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on the 23rd of May, 2025. And to wrap up their league games, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be up against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on the 27th of May, 2025, over at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Now, when you start crunching the numbers for the IPL 2025 playoffs, you’ve gotta say, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are in with a bloody good shout this year to finally get their hands on that elusive trophy. Looking at the points table, RCB could finish the league stage with a whopping 22 points if they manage to win all their last three tussles against KKR, SRH, and LSG. But even if they only jag one win from those three, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are still looking good for a top-two finish.

However, there’s a bit of a worry for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their gun fast bowler, Aussie Josh Hazlewood, is battling a dodgy shoulder at the moment, so it’s looking a bit iffy whether he’ll be right for the rest of the tournament. And you wouldn’t believe it, Hazlewood’s been a real wicket-taking machine for RCB this IPL 2025 season, nabbing 18 wickets in 10 matches at a cracking average of 17.28. It’s also still up in the air if South African speedster Lungi Ngidi will be available for the remainder of the competition.

On top of that, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar is also struggling with a bruised finger, so he’s a bit of a doubt for the big clash against Kolkata Knight Riders kicking off on Saturday. If he’s out, word is that wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma will likely step up and take the captain’s armband. There are also a few question marks over whether Tim David and Romario Shepherd will be fit to play.

Our Predicted RCB Playing Eleven:

Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar ©, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal.

Full RCB IPL 2025 Squad:

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar ©, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.