IPL 2025 RCB vs SRH Key Players: From Virat Kohli to Pat Cummins, here are the players who could make a difference

Royal Challengers Bengaluru face Sunrisers Hyderabad in a bid to seal the top 2 position at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.

The game, which was supposed to be played in Bengaluru, has been shifted to Lucknow because of the weather forecast in the southern city. This could act as a blessing in disguise for the proxy hosts, RCB, who have not lost a single game away from home this season.

RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, last played a match on May 3, prior to which they had won four in a row. Their match after the 10-day break was washed out. The team will now miss the services of Devdutt Padikkal. Mayank Agarwal has been named as his replacement They are also without Josh Hazlewood, who has been their best bowler. However, Phil Salt will return and likely replace Jacob Bethell at the top of the order. Virat Kohli has been in great form and this is his first game after announcing his retirement from Test cricket. The lower order of Jitesh Sharma, Tim David and Romario Shephard has been dangerous.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal will have to do the heavy lifting in the absence of Hazlewood, while Lungi Ngidi is expected to play a key role in the bowling department. Spinners Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya have also been effective throughout the season.

For SRH, this is a match to extend their winning streak, after having beaten Lucknow Super Giants at the same venue. Having been knocked out of the season, SRH will look to create a few more upsets.

Travis Head returns to the top of the order after recovering from Covid-19. Abhishek Sharma seems to have found his form, while Heinrich Klaasen has also looked dangerous in the past few matches.

The bowling has been better with Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkar and Pat Cummins as the pacers with Zeehsan Ansari and Harsh Dubey as the spinners.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Key Players

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli was in red-hot form before the tournament paused with 505 runs in 11 innings. It will be interesting to see how he goes about post his Test retirement.

Krunal Pandya: Krunal Pandya becomes a key player for RCB in the absence of Padikkal and Hazlewood. He has also played the last three years at Lucknow for LSG. the allrounder has made crucial contributions with the bat and the ball.

Tim David: The finisher has been providing stunning cameos in the death overs. RCB would need some of his power hitting for those 15-20 extra runs at the end.

Travis Head: It has not been the best of the seasons for the Australian opener, and he would like to make the last two matches count.

Abhishek Sharma: The opener is coming into the match in good form, having scored a quick half century in the previous match. He will fancy taking on RCB's bowlers, especially the spinners.

Pat Cummins: Pat Cummins has been a key figure in the SRH bowling unit, leading it from the front. He has started to take the new ball and could trouble the RCB top order.