On Friday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Chennai Super Kings in the eighth match of the current Indian Premier League season. The game will be held at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. RCB started off strong in IPL 2025 by beating KKR by seven wickets in their first game. As they prepare for the match against CSK, let’s check out their possible playing lineup.
In their opener against KKR, ace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was missing due to a minor injury. But he’s back in shape and ready for this big game. According to RCB’s latest update, he’s likely to play against CSK. If he returns, RCB will need to choose between dropping either Yash Dayal or Rasikh Salam, since both took a wicket in the last match, but Dayal had a better economy rate.
Dayal is also RCB’s only left-arm pacer and was kept as their lone uncapped player ahead of the auction. So, it seems likely that they would keep Dayal in the team if they had to choose between the two bowlers.
The pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium tends to favor spinners, so fans might expect RCB to add another spinner. But it’s important to note that they already have two good spin bowlers, Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya, in their lineup against KKR. Plus, Liam Livingstone and Tim David can pitch in with some spin if needed.
So, it looks like Bhuvneshwar coming in for Rasikh could be the only change in RCB’s lineup against CSK.
Here’s how RCB’s playing XI might look: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma.
Impact players: Devdutt Padikkal, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Abhinandan Singh.
