Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) begin their IPL 2025 season on the road. Their tournament opener is in Kolkata and their next fixture is in Chennai, two venues where teams have banked on spin to succeed. For RCB to have a successful season, their spinners will have to play a crucial role, but do they have the firepower in that department to get their season rolling in the right direction?
In Krunal Pandya, they have an experienced left-arm orthodox spinner but, impact-wise, an IPL economy of 7.36 and average of 34.28 classifies him as a defensive bowler. Being a top defensive bowler has its advantages, especially for a team like RCB who face the prospect of seven home games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. This skill made him a prime target for RCB at the auction, and at INR 5.75 crore, he is a value pick. But, that's about it.
Wristspinner Suyash Sharma is still an IPL rookie, his understudy Mohit Rathee is a relatively unknown quantity, and then there's the part-timer Liam Livingstone. Swapnil Singh did a steady job last season and Jacob Bethell could also have a bowl, but a cursory glance at all the squads suggest RCB are lacking the bite in that department.
Head coach Andy Flower said he understood people having questions on RCB's spin unit leading into the season, but the combination of Krunal's experience, the wristspinners' potential, and the option Livingstone provides means he himself is "comfortable" with the situation.
"It's a really good and apt question to ask," Flower said on the eve of RCB's first game at Eden Gardens. "Krunal was a significant part of our targeted players in the auction. He's a smart and courageous cricketer and he's got leadership experience as well. So having his nous, he's a street-wise operator and he's obviously got class as a left-arm spinner, let alone as an allrounder. That is comforting to have in our group and leading the way in the spin department."
Suyash has played only 13 IPL games in two seasons, with only two opportunities in 2024 after a promising debut in 2023. At KKR, he had the cushion of having experienced mystery spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy to mentor him and now at RCB he is playing the lead. Flower said he knows Suyash won't be "a Shane Warne" right away, so expectations should be tempered.
"On the wristspin front, Suyash is a very exciting young prospect with limited experience, but has a really high ceiling. And Mohit Rathee to back him up," Flower said. "You know, we are looking for great things from Suyash, but none of us know exactly how he's going to go in a full IPL season. And every young player starts off that way.
"He's rehabbing after a recent groin surgery and that's gone really well. That's been a long-standing injury problem he had, which we identified during the off season. And he's had some really good care and attention from RCB. We're hoping for great things from him. But we are also not expecting him to be, you know, Shane Warne from the off.
"We've got to be patient and let him learn from his experiences. And it's good that he's got these experienced cricketers around him and a captain he'll be comfortable working with. To back them up, obviously Swapnil Singh was good for us last year. and Liam Livingstone does a bit of everything. Having him as backup on the spin department is quite a nice insurance to have. So we're comfortable with where we are."
Despite RCB's perceived spin-bowling issues, their fast-bowling stocks in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara and Rasikh Salam offer plenty of promise. Flower felt having a balance of experienced seamers and in-form quicks gives them a fast-bowling group where they have enough leaders to take the pressure off new captain Rajat Patidar.
"I think having influential people in your squad that have performed at the top level, of course, that gives them a level of confidence. You get confidence from the evidence of them succeeding at the top level in the past, and there are a lot of our guys that have done that.
"For instance, our bowling attack, we've got Hazlewood, Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar] Yash and Krunal, and even Yash has got some good experience now. He's got a pretty calm, good head on his shoulders. So that's four guys that will almost be captaining themselves in terms of tactics and decision-making."
RCB start their season with tough games but Flower sees that as a positive, getting off the blocks against quality teams. When asked if facing the defending champions first was daunting, Flower turned the tables: "Yes, it is very daunting. For KKR!
"I hope it is an El-Clasico tomorrow night. That'll be a brilliant way to start IPL 2025."