The 18th season of the Indian Premier League will resume on the 17th of May. Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. There was a lot of confusion among fans about whether their overseas players would return to India to play the remainder of the season. One of the top four teams, RCB, now has a very clear idea about all of its foreign players.
Due to the horrific Indo-Pak clash, the IPL was postponed for a week. Many overseas players from various teams returned to their homes. The rescheduling of the remaining IPL matches resulted in a clash with the World Test Championship final between South Africa and Australia. In addition to that, England and the West Indies also had their respective series coming up.
Initially, there was no confirmation about Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell. However, all three players returned to India. Except for Bethell, who was selected for England’s ODI team, Salt and Livingstone will be available for RCB for the entire season. Cricket West Indies has also permitted its players to complete the season, so Romario Shepherd will be available for the full IPL 2025.
There was some conflict between Cricket South Africa and the BCCI. Ultimately, the latter allowed South African players to return home before the playoffs. Therefore, Lungi Ngidi will leave the RCB camp before the playoffs. Last but certainly not least, RCB’s most important overseas player, Josh Hazlewood, is still recovering from a shoulder injury and will join the camp next week. The good news for RCB fans is that he will be available for the playoffs.
Tim David was enjoying the rain at Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of RCB’s match against KKR
Over the years, many matches have been abandoned at the Chinnaswamy Stadium due to rain. It looks like rain might disrupt the match between RCB and KKR as well. However, it didn’t stop the RCB players—especially Tim David—from having some fun in the rain.
RCB’s official social media handle shared a video in which the Aussie was seen enjoying the rain in shorts. He even slid on the covers, causing the other RCB players to burst into laughter at his expense. It was a heartfelt moment that showed how close all the players are to one another. Many fans joked and expressed concern about David possibly catching a fever.
David has been a revelation for the Red Army. His numbers compared to last season have been impressive. Last year, he had an average of just 30 and a strike rate of 158 while playing for the Mumbai Indians. This year, he has an unbelievable average of 93 and a strike rate of almost 200. With the playoffs nearing, his contribution will be extremely valuable for RCB.
