Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are still awaiting their first Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, have made Rajat Patidar their new captain after he had a fantastic season as a leader of Madhya Pradesh in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), taking them to the final. But, with the competition getting much stiffer in the next couple of months or so, he will need to marshall his bowling lineup quite well during the IPL 2025, which could be critical to their title aspirations.
In this article, SportsTiger picks the five top bowlers in the IPL 2025 squad of RCB.
List of 5 Top bowlers in RCB’s IPL 2025 squad
Josh Hazlewood
Australian international Josh Hazlewood, who is currently recovering from a calf injury, has played a couple of seasons of the IPL for RCB and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The 34-year-old pacer has 35 wickets in 27 matches to his name in the league, which isn’t a big sample size, but he has the pedigree and the experience to come good in tough situations with the ball, which is something RCB would desperately need in the upcoming 2025 season.
Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya has immense experience of playing in the IPL, and his all-round skills are needed by the RCB, not only to bowl at a decent economy with his left-arm spin, but also to strike the ball big in the latter stages of an innings. After playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the 33-year-old will be looking to give his best with the bat, ball, and in the field, to balance out the RCB playing XI perfectly this year.
Yash Dayal
Yash Dayal, 27, the left-arm fast bowler, made a remarkable comeback to the IPL with RCB in the 2024 season after getting smashed for five sixes in one over during a game for Gujarat Titans (GT), just a year prior. He picked up the key wicket of MS Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final over of the IPL game last season before securing his team a playoff spot, and that performance will inspire to play even better in the IPL 2025.
Nuwan Thushara
Nuwan Thushara has modelled his action to fellow countryman and former fast bowler Lasith Malinga, and with that, he has achieved a lot of success at the franchise and international level. In his debut IPL season with MI last year, the 30-year-old picked up eight wickets in seven matches, and he will be looking to improve on his numbers for RCB this season.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 34, has the wealth of experience of playing for India and in the IPL, competing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the last 11 seasons before getting signed by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 season. The right-arm fast bowler has taken 181 wickets in 176 IPL matches with a fantastic economy rate, and RCB will need all of his skills and ability in the power play and death overs, to ensure that the opposition are not scoring big runs in the crucial stage.
