Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has opened up on Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting line-up ahead of Indian Premier League 2025. RCB was able to retain Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
In the auction, they were able to able to rope in batters like Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Jacob Bethell.
Batting has always been RCB’s strength and Chopra noted they have once again assembled a good batting line-up.
“They have once again assembled a good batting lineup if you consider pedigree and explosive ability. They didn’t use to have too much difficulty in batting and won’t have it now either. However, it’s not that everything is in the top three,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra noted that this time around RCB has the batting depth in their squad for IPL 2025.
“We have seen many times that there is a lot in the top three and nothing after that. It has been their problem repeatedly but it doesn’t seem to be the case this time. Virat Kohli with Phil Salt, then you have got Rajat Patidar, there might be a place for Devdutt Padikkal, and then you have Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma and Tim David,” he observed.
“They have intentionally tried to have a little bit of depth. The cream is at the top, but they have tried not to have a top-dependent batting lineup. So I consider it a strength. It is important that they shouldn’t be a one-man team. It is important that they shouldn’t be dependent on the top three. Looking at this team, you can say that they are not overly dependent on the top three this year,” the analyst added.
On the other hand, RCB has fast bowlers like Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Josh Hazlewood, and Chopra highlighted that they have variety in their pace battery.
“Secondly, they have variety in the pace department. They have Josh Hazlewood’s class, then they have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, they have another bowler in the form of Yash Dayal, they have made Lungi Ngidi a part of their team, and a round-arm bowler in the form of Nuwan Thushara,” he said.
Chopra said RCB has a better pace attack for the upcoming season of the tournament.
“So they have kept different kinds of bowlers in their pace-bowling department. We shall count that as a strength. You expect one or the other would work. So it seems like there has been a slight upgrade,” Chopra observed.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will begin their IPL 2025 campaign against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday.
