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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spent a significant amount of money at the mega auction in 2024 to get a strong roster of players for the following seasons. RCB appears to be well-prepared for IPL 2025, with players such as Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, and others.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans are excited to see if their team can finally win the elusive IPL crown in the 2025 season. However, each season offers its own set of uncertainty, and this year Royal Challengers Bengaluru may struggle with performances from some of its new additions.
There are players who will have a lot of time on the field and will assist their side in winning games through their efforts. However, some players may be unable to participate in the competition for a variety of reasons.
Today we will take a look at three players in the RCB franchise that might remain on the bench and not play a single game in the IPL 2025.
Let’s take a look at three RCB players who might be benched for the whole IPL 2025 season:
1. Swastik Chhikara
Swastik Chikara, a competent middle-order batter from Uttar Pradesh, has produced outstanding results in domestic events. Swastik Chikara could receive a chance in the starting lineup for a few league games if RCB gets a playoff spot early.
Chikkara, born in 2005, has played 2 FC, 6 List-A, and 4 T20 matches for Uttar Pradesh. He has 289 runs across formats in domestic cricket with one century in 50-over fame. However, he made a name for himself in the UP T20 league, where he got the Orange Cap for most runs with one ton and 4 fifties for the Meerut Mavericks.
Swastik Chhikara was part of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 and spent time with Rishabh Pant and Ricky Ponting and absorbed a lot of knowledge. However, his chances of playing in the IPL 2025 season for RCB are slim, since veteran middle-order specialists such as Liam Livingstone and Tim David are expected to be emphasized.
2. Manoj Bhandage
Manoj Bhandage is a left-arm batter and right-arm pacer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He has extensive experience in 14 List-A games and 28 T20 matches, having made his debut in 2019. He plays for the Bengaluru Blasters, Karnataka, Gulbarga Mystics, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
He was bought by RCB for INR 30 lakhs in the IPL 2025 auction in Saudi Arabia for his base price. He was also part of the RCB squad in IPL 2023 and 2024 as well, where he was bought for his base price by the franchise. Bhandage was a prime performer in the Maharaja T20 league in Karnataka, where he scored 292 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 213.13 and picked 8 wickets.
He is a very good lower-order hitter and a nippy pace bowler. But with the RCB team being filled with such players like Tim David, Romario Shepherd, and Krunal Pandya, who can hit big shots down the order, Bhandage is the backup for the backups and might not get a chance to play a game in IPL 2025.
3. Mohit Rathee
Mohit Rathee is a leg-spinning all-rounder who hails from Haryana and plays domestic cricket for Services. The 25-year-old has played just 4 FC matches and taken 9 wickets thus far. But with the bat, Rathee has 138 runs with one fifty to his name. In 13 T20s, Rathee has 100 runs to his name and 9 wickets as well, with the best bowling of 2/16.
He grabbed the notice of franchise scouts and was selected by the Punjab Kings team in the auction for the 2023 IPL season. The all-rounder can bowl leg-spin and bat well, and if he can perfect his talents in the presence of prominent international players in the dressing room, he will undoubtedly improve as a cricketer.
With the RCB team filled with spin bowling all-rounders like Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, and Jacob Bethell, it remains to be seen how many matches Mohit Rathee can add to his one IPL match that he played for Punjab Kings.
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