Who could be Yuzvendra Chahal’s replacement at Royal Challengers Bengaluru?

Chahal’s past replacements at RCB

Meanwhile, since IPL 2022, RCB has been toiling hard to find a perfect replacement for Chahal. RCB has played three seasons without Chahal and has finished surprisingly well. They made it to the playoffs twice in the last three seasons and finished sixth in 2023. However, the batters in particular have done a lot of heavy lifting for their incredible finishes in the past three seasons.

Wanindu Hasranga in 2022

In IPL 2022 it seemed like RCB had struck gold when they bought Wanindu Hasaranga. The Sri Lankan leg-spinner picked up 26 wickets in 16 games and was the highest wicket-taker for the franchise during the season. He bowled 57 overs in the season and only conceded 7.54 runs per over.

Along with Hasaranga, Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed also rolled their arms over. The duo picked up 10 wickets but were quite expensive going at an economy of 8.50 in their 59 overs.

Meanwhile, Chahal while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the season picked up 27 wickets and even won the Purple Cap in the season. Even though, Hasaranga performed exceptionally well, Chahal with his heaps of wickets helped the Royals reach the final in 2022.

Karn Sharma and Wanindu Hasaranga in 2023

Wanindu Hasaranga failed to back up his performance from IPL 2022 in the next season. The Sri Lankan leg spinner played only eight matches and picked up nine wickets. His economy too surged up to 8.9 runs per over. Former Indian spinner, Karn Sharma was the leading wicket-taker among RCB spinners. He picked up 10 wickets in seven games but was even more costly than Hasaranga leaking 10.37 runs per over.

Michael Bracewell, Maxwell, and Shahbaz Ahmed too showcased their part-time spinning abilities. The three spinners bowled 28 overs and accounted for 10 wickets. Their combined economy exceeded 10 RPO as RCB failed to make it into the playoffs.

Chahal on the other hand continued to shine bright in the pink jersey of the Royals. He picked up 21 wickets in the season. Even though his tally of wickets did not reach the same level in 2022, the former RCB spinner was still better than his replacement. 

Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh in 2024

Wanindu Hasaranga owing to poor form and constant injuries was released from the RCB squad. Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh were the premier spinners in the RCB squad. However, it was Maxwell who struggled big time with the bat in hand who was the best spinner in the lineup. He picked up six wickets in 16 overs while conceding 8.06 runs per over.

Karn picked up seven wickets in 24 overs and conceded 10.6 runs per over. Swapnil Singh along with Mayank Dagar and Will Jacks bowled 35 overs of spin for RCB. The three spinners accounted for nine wickets and went for 9.85 RPO.

Chahal on the other hand had a pretty ordinary season by his high standards in 2024. The right-arm leg spinner picked up 18 wickets while conceding 546 runs at an economy of 9.4. It was his worst season in the IPL in terms of economy and was harshly released from the RR squad.

Who could replace Chahal in RCB in IPL 2025?

It is 2025, even though Yuzvendra Chahal last played for the RCB in IPL 2021, they are yet to find a replacement for the Indian spinner. Somehow even though the pitch and conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium do not really help the spin bowlers, still RCB has six spinners in their squad. Four of these six spinners could also find themselves in the playing XI. Let’s take a look at the possible players who could lead the spin-bowling attack for RCB in IPL 2025.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya has been a wily all-rounder in the Indian Premier League since he started playing in 2016. The left-arm bowler is the most experienced spinner in the RCB bowling lineup. While he is not a regular wicket-taker in the marquee T20 league, Pandya uses his smarts to bowl cheaply. He has picked up 76 wickets in the competition while going at an economy of 7.36 runs per over. His economical bowling at the Chinnaswamy Stadium could be equivalent to picking up a couple of wickets.

Suyash Sharma

While Krunal has the experience of playing in the IPL talking for him, Suyash Sharma has the exuberance of youth on his side. He burst onto the scene in IPL 2023 as he picked up 10 wickets in 11 games. Interestingly, his T20 debut came against RCB while representing KKR. He recorded his best figures in the IPL on debut at the Eden Gardens. As Suyash returns to the same venue on the 22nd, he will play an influential role in deciding which team ends up on the winning side.

Liam Livingstone

In the past few years, Liam Livingstone has underperformed with the bat in hand at crucial junctures. This has meant that Livingstone’s bowling has been his most important asset. He is a unique bowler and bowls right-arm off-spin to left-handers and leg-spin to right-handed batters. This makes Livingstone an able spinner in the world of player vs player matchups. His ability to switch between bowling styles makes him a rare spinner. However, Livingstone too like Krunal struggles to pick wickets. On top of his inability to pick regular wickets, the 31-year-old could find it tough to contain the flow of runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Jacob Bethell

Jacob Bethell is as raw a talent as one could be. The English middle-order batter is looked at as a potential three-format star, and given his all-around strengths, he could be a handy spinner for RCB. He is one of the very few left-handed players in the squad, along with Krunal Pandya. Bethell has taken 11 wickets in 20 T20 innings. He is an economical bowler and goes for only 7.65 runs per over. At Chinnaswamy Stadium, his economical bowling could prove to be pretty useful.

Apart from these four spinners, RCB also has Swapnil Singh and Mohit Rathee in their ranks. Swapnil was fairly regular in the playing 11 last season as the Faf du Plessis-led side made it to the playoffs. Rathee on the other hand, is a leg-spinner having played only 13 T20 games in the domestic circuit. He represented the Punjab Kings in IPL 2023 for one game and conceded 29 runs in his two wicketless overs.

Who could be the go-to man for Rajat Patidar in the middle overs?

The Royal Challengers not only have an inexperienced spin attack but will also be captained by Rajat Patidar, who will get his first taste of captaincy in the Indian Premier League. While he will have the experienced Virat Kohli to help him make difficult decisions, Patidar will need to find his lead spinner for the season.

Krunal Pandya stands out among the rest of the options being a sure-shot starter in the playing 11. However, the left-arm orthodox spinner has yet to showcase the ability to lead a spin-bowling attack in the IPL. Suyash Sharma as a pure spinner could be a choice to lead the spinners but it would not be easy for the 21-year-old to tackle the multiple challenges the surface at Chinnaswamy Stadium could throw.

The only positive for Patidar and the RCB when it comes to bowling is that they have a fairly decent pace attack. However, things could change rapidly if either Josh Hazlewood or Bhuvneshwar Kumar injures themself. The two experienced pacers have been injury-prone for a long time and could seriously dampen the chances of the Patidar-led side if they miss any games.