He is set to play his first IPL match for RCB at Chepauk.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) named Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in their playing XI for the blockbuster 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on Friday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar had missed RCB’s IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders due to an injury. But he was practicing in the nets ahead of the South Indian derby. RCB had acquired the 35-year-old speedster for INR 10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction last year.
Rasikh Dar Salam had played Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens last week.
He had finished with figures of 1/35 from three overs, failing to find a place in the playing XI for the game against Southern rivals CSK. Bhuveshwar Kumar, on the other hand, also offers nice swing and seam movement, and the conditions of the pitch in Chennai could benefit the veteran.
Rasikh, however, is one of the impact player substitutes for RCB, so he could still come in as an impact player during CSK’s chase.
Bhuvneshwar brings new ball value more than most fast bowlers in the league. The swing bowler can exploit any movement in the air upfront, allowing RCB to use the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal through the middle and death overs. Despite RCB’s win, his absence in the match at Eden Gardens was sorely felt.
Bought for a whopping amount at the IPL 2025 auction, Bhuvneshwar plugs a big hole in this RCB attack and, alongside Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya, forms a defensive trio that the franchise will bank upon on high-scoring wickets to contain the scoring rate.
At his best, Bhuvneshwar has the skill and game awareness to trouble the best of batters and can be handy with the new ball and in the death overs. His experience would be a big bonus for RCB and also reduces the onus of leading the pace attack on Hazlewood quite a bit.
Rajat Patidar (Captain), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar received a contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2009. But he failed to play a game for that year. He then found a new franchise in the now-defunct Pune Warriors India, between 2011 and 2013.
At the 2014 IPL auction, Bhuvneshwar was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 4.25 crore. He played for the franchise for over a decade and took 157 wickets. He was part of the SRH team that defeated RCB to win the IPL title in 2016.
The pacer remains the highest wicket-taker for SRH, with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (93 wickets) behind him in second place. He won the prestigious Purple Cap award in 2016 (23 wickets) and 2017 (26 wickets), becoming the first bowler to win the award in two consecutive seasons. Overall, in the IPL, the Uttar Pradesh bowler has taken 181 wickets from 176 matches.
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