Time running out for Padikkal and Livingstone in Royal Challengers Bengaluru: RR vs RCB IPL 2025 likely XI

Three weeks into the IPL season and the historic city of Jaipur is preparing to host its first game of the tournament. The Royal rivalry will see its first game of the IPL 2025 season, as the Rajasthan Royals prepare to host Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the sweltering summer sun at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. These are two teams coming in off disappointing losses: what changes will they make as they try to get back to winning ways?

RCB found themselves on the receiving end of a KL Rahul masterclass against the Delhi Capitals, as they lost another game at home in the IPL. The good news for them is that they have been a strong travelling side, winning each of their three matches on the road so far this season. RCB’s batting had a rare failure against DC, but there was much to be heartened about: they had an incredible start and an incredible finish to their innings, but fell apart against the quality DC spinners.

There have been some calls from the RCB faithful to move on from a struggling Liam Livingstone and give a chance to the exciting potential of Jacob Bethell. Bethell could bat at three in this lineup, allowing them to look away from Devdutt Padikkal, who hasn’t found any rhythm thus far this season. This would open the door for Manoj Bhandage or Swastik Chikara lower down the order.

It’s a tougher task to change things up for Rajasthan Royals, who have eked out a couple of wins but haven’t looked very convincing. With Wanindu Hasaranga missing their previous match due to personal reasons, their spin department looks a little undercooked, while their batting continues to blow hot and cold. Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t made any scores of note thus far this tournament, but is due a strong performance: will returning to the home climates in Jaipur help him out?

RR feels like a team that is prepared to go on a run if they can find the right platform. Captain Sanju Samson looked in good touch before his wicket against GT, as did Riyan Parag: although they ultimately came nowhere close to the target, they have enough batting quality to provide a fair degree of confidence in the unit.

Add to this Jofra Archer looking as if he is approaching his best, and RR will back themselves for a winning start at home. They will need names such as Nitish Rana and Tushar Deshpande to step up, and the bowling remains a concern in terms of wicket-taking due to the absence of Hasaranga. But this won’t be an easy contest for RCB, particularly if they let that RR top order find some rhythm.

RR vs RCB Likely XIs

RR likely XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma

RCB likely XI: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma