The team shocked the cricketing world as they decided to let go household names like Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell ahead of the big auctions but had a solid plan to go by in pursuit of building a champion side. They shored up their bowling with clinical signings in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood before surrounding Kohli with ultra-aggressive batters like Phil Salt, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, and Romario Shepherd.
The result? RCB won nine of their 14 group games to finish second on the points table before going on to win their maiden title. A deeper look into the stats shows how RCB pulled off a masterstroke during the auctions to cover all their bases.
The pace bowling trio of Bhuvneshwar, Hazlewood, and Dayal ensured that the side finished on top of the charts for most wickets in the powerplay with 27 wickets. The cherry on the top was their economy of 8.73 and strike rate of 20.00, which was also the best among all sides. Even in the death bowling department, which used to be the thorn in the flesh for them until now, the Bengaluru-based outfit fared decently. With an economy of 10.68, they were fourth in the overall standings despite playing their home matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, a notoriously high-scoring venue. And with Krunal Pandya (eco 8.23) applying the squeeze in the middle overs, sides found the going difficult against RCB.
On the batting front, Salt, David, Jitesh, and Shepherd all had strike rates in excess of 175, with Kohli once again playing the perfect anchor and top scoring for the side yet again with a tally of 657 runs at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. The contrasting styles synced perfectly with RCB as the side scored at a steady pace through all phases of their batting innings. They scored at 154.07 in the powerplay, at 147.45 between overs six to 16, while going ballistic at 180.79 in the death, second only to Punjab Kings in the league.
On the chopping blocks: Livingstone and Rasikh Salam
Even in the midst of an excellent season, RCB had its fair share of concerns, with Liam Livingstone’s indifferent form topping the list. RCB shelled out INR 8.75 crore to acquire the services of the England all-rounder, but his numbers were pretty ordinary by all means. He managed a meagre tally of 112 runs from eight innings at an underwhelming average of 16.00 and a strike rate of 133.33. With the ball too, he had just two wickets from five innings, sending down a total of nine overs at an economy of 8.44. The IPL 2025 champions, in all probability, will try to offload the England player and free up INR 8.75 crores, which could, in turn, be used for other signings.
Rasikh Salam was another player who attracted eyeballs after RCB signed him for an amount of INR 6 crores, after starting off from a base price of 30 lakhs. But the all-rounder from Jammu and Kashmir played just two games and failed to impress with just one wicket to his name. He too will be one of their primary targets to offload, taking their bank balance to around 15 crores and opening up the possibility of big ticket signings.
What they need for a successful defence
The RCB bench looks a bit thin, especially in the spin department, with Suyash Sharma being the only option apart from Krunal Pandya. But the leg spinner’s returns were highly inconsistent as he picked eight wickets from 14 matches at an unimpressive average of 55.25 and a strike rate of 37.50. That makes signing a primary spin option a top priority for the champion side. They have a plethora of leg spin options to choose from, including Adam Zampa and Adil Rashid, and the luxury of chasing them in case they do away with Livingstone and Rasikh.
Getting a pace-bowling all-rounder will be another option they would be mulling over, with Romario Shepherd being their only name on the roster if Rasikh is released to the auction pool. With the market also very scarce for this breed, they could break their bank in case Punjab Kings decide to release Mitchell Owen or Marcus Stoinis into the pool.
RCB Expected XII: Phil Salt*, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David*, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood*, Suyash Sharma