RCB kicked off their IPL 2025 campaign by winning the toss and opting to bowl first against KKR at the Eden Gardens. But RCB fans were in for a shock as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was missing from the RCB Playing XI despite the team opting to play three fast bowlers and two spinners. As the RCB fans wondered where ‘Bhuvi’, the 10.75 crore pick at the IPL 2025 auction vanished, Rasikh Salam Dar and Yash Dayal warmed up for RCB alongside Josh Hazlewood.
RCB Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt (wk), Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Impact Sub: Devdutt Padikkal, Abhinandan Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh
“The pitch looks good. There will be help for fast bowlers, but not as much,” Rajat Patidar said at the toss. “Excited to lead in the IPL. The preparation has been great. Looking forward to a great tournament. We are going with three fast bowlers and two spinners.”
It is unclear whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar was injured ahead of the game, which resulted in his absence from the RCB Playing XI. With the Eden Gardens conditions to the liking of fast bowlers, particularly new ball bowlers, Bhuvneshwar’s absence was a notable takeaway from the toss, especially as the opposition, KKR, chose for an extra new ball option in Spencer Johnson over Anrich Nortje.
Further updates are awaited from the RCB camp about Bhuvneshwar’s absence.
Meanwhile, RCB fans were active on social media questioning about the absence of their key bowler in the opening fixture of IPL 2025.
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