Former wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has made a rather bold prediction for the upcoming 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and it will certainly not please the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans. Adam Gilchrist believes the Virat Kohli-starrer franchise will finish at the bottom of the points table. The IPL 2025 is scheduled to kick-off on Saturday (March 22), with the opening fixture between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and RCB at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) enter the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) hoping that this can finally be the lucky year where they win the coveted title. Despite playing three IPL finals, RCB have never won the tournament, losing on each occasion. However, despite making some heavy investments, legendary Australian wicket-keeper batter and former IPL winner Adam Gilchrist said that RCB would come last in IPL 2025. Adam Gilchrist also jokingly gave a hilarious reason to back up his bold statement.
RCB’s star studded batting line up & decent bowling attack
Virat Kohli remains RCB’s biggest draw. He fills up the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. This is the 18th edition of the IPL, and with Virat Kohli as RCB’s most beloved cricketer, the franchise will hope for a turn of luck starting from the opening match against the three-time winner and defending champion, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on March 22.
Virat Kohli has opened the RCB innings 113 times, scoring 4352 runs at an average of 45.81. He should open the innings alongside Phil Salt, who has replaced Faf du Plessis in the squad. Salt had opened the innings for KKR in season 17.
RCB has named rookie Rajat Patidar as captain. Rajat Patidar, who struggled in the home Test series against England last year, has played only 27 matches for the Bengaluru side, scoring 799 runs. Last season, he played fifteen matches and scored 395 runs, maintaining a high average of 37.75 in the one-drop position, from where he scored 453 runs, including 322 at No.4.
The franchise went all out at the player auction, successfully bidding for England’s Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell, along with Salt and Australia’s Tim David, who can bombard rival bowling attacks with towering sixes. These power hitters should relish the batting paradise that is the Chinnaswamy.
Among them, wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who had an impressive run with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024, was RCB’s most expensive acquisition at ₹11.5 crore. Explosive all-rounder Liam Livingstone joined for ₹8.75 crore, while young prospect Jacob Bethell was picked up for ₹2.6 crore.
The team retained Virat Kohli, Patidar, and left-arm seamer Yash Dayal. At the mega auction, they chose wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, left-arm spinner all-rounder Krunal Pandya, and batter Devdutt Padikkal. The team also has several impact players in left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, seamer Rasik Salam Dar, and big hitter David.
The squad’s bowling department is bolstered by experienced seamers and fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dayal, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, and Abhinandan Singh. The team also has leg-spinners Suyash Sharma and Mohit Rathee.
Under coach Andrew Flower, RCB has altered its batting structure. Last season, the team’s key batters included du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, Cameron Green, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, and Glenn Maxwell. Despite Mohammed Siraj’s impressive performance (15 wickets at 33.07), RCB opted not to retain him. They used 10 bowlers last year, retaining Dayal, who took 15 wickets.
The team’s think tank has devised a bowling combination designed to win matches across the country, especially at home. However, RCB’s home record is dismal, having won only 39 of the 80 games played, with a low win rate of 48.75% and 37 losses. This is an area that RCB needs to improve to enhance their chances of making the playoffs. Fortunately, they have the resources to do so.
The IPL (Indian Premier League) 2025 is all set to kick off on March 22. The 18th edition of the marquee event will see defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener of the tournament. Both sides will lock horns at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, and both teams will hope to get off to a good start.
Where KKR will be coming into the season on the back of winning the title in 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are still looking to get their hands on their very first title.
Over the years, despite coming close, RCB have failed to win the title. With consistent finishes in the top four, the side seems to have it under control but fails to go all the way. Ahead of the new season, former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist came forward and went on to opine that RCB would finish last in the IPL 2025.
Adam Gilchrist’s cheeky prediction on team RCB as he feels will come last in IPL 2025
Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has made a cheeky prediction on who will end up at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2025. Adam Gilchrist hilariously stated that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have a fair chance of finishing last due to too many England players in their squad.
The likes of Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone will turn out for the Royal Challengers this year. While Salt and Livingstone have played in the lucrative league before, Bethell will feature for the first time. The spin-bowling all-rounder may be under a bit of a pressure as the franchise shelled out ₹2.6 crore on him in the auction.
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, the legendary keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist made the prediction about RCB and cheekily apologised to fans, clarifying that it’s nothing against Virat Kohli.
“I think there’s a fair chance it might be because I’m basing it on the fact that there’s just too many Englishmen in the squad. So, RCB. On the back of having too many Englishmen in there. Nothing against Virat, nothing against their fans. I apologise to the fans, but you’ve got to talk to your recruiting agents,” Gilchrist said via Hindustan Times.
The Royal Challengers are one of the few franchises that are yet to win the IPL. They have made it to the finals thrice but fell short on all occasions. The focus will again be on Kohli, who has not only played for the franchise since 2008, but is also the highest run-getter in the tournament history.