The IPL 2025 season brings exciting new opening combinations for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as both teams aim for strong starts. RCB has retained Virat Kohli for ₹21 crores, and with the release of Faf du Plessis, they have brought in explosive wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt. Possible opening pairs include Virat Kohli-Phil Salt, a solid right-hand duo, and Devdutt Padikkal-Phil Salt, which brings a left-right balance.
KKR, fresh from their IPL 2024 title win, will miss Phil Salt, their former opener. However, they have new overseas wicketkeeping options in Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to pair with Sunil Narine. Their first-choice opening duo is expected to be Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine, with Gurbaz as a backup. KKR will be hoping for strong performances from their top-order batters to defend their championship title in IPL 2025.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Opening Pair
RCB had a magnificent opening pair in Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis who dictated games in the initial overs and had a massive impact on the game. Virat Kohli, a superstar of the game has already built his reputation with his phenomenal batting skills and won the Orange Cap in IPL 2024 with 741 runs and a strike rate of 132. RCB has retained Virat Kohli for 21 crores and is an obvious starter in the RCB squad. However, RCB had released Faf du Plessis considering the long tenure of the game.
They acquired Phil Salt for a decent price of 11.50 crore. Phil Salt had a good outing last year with KKR scoring 435 runs at a strike rate 182. RCB found themselves another exciting young prospect in Devdutt Padikkal who had shined in the RCB colours in 2020 and 2021.
1. Virat Kohli And Phil Salt
This opening pair has the potential be one of the best opening pair of this IPL considering their recent form and their ability to score runs in the powerplay. Phil Salt will be crucial to RCB’s plans as he has big shoes to fill with the release of Faf du Plessis. He will be expected to take on the bowlers with his hard hitting abilities and there is none better than Virat Kohli to support him from the other end. This batting unit will be heavily reliant on the form of these two as this opening pair is very potent of laying the foundation towards a massive score which is important as per the brand of T20 cricket that is being played nowadays.
2. Devdutt Padikkal And Phil Salt
This pair would also be ideal as it provides the much-needed left-hand-right-hand combination which could cause problems for bowlers in finding the right angles. RCB would turn towards this pair in a scenario where they might feel that their middle order lacks a technical batsman and might require a technical batsman like Virat Kohli to come at no.3 and navigate in difficult conditions. Virat Kohli could hold the innings together and adding Devdutt Padikkal also adds another left-hander to the squad along with Krunal Pandya and maybe Jacob Bethell which could be handy against leg spin. The form of Devdutt Padikkal could be crucial as RCB has a drought of left-handed batsmen in their batting unit.
Kolkata Knight Riders Opening Pair
KKR had a prolific season last time out winning their 3rd IPL title. They had a formidable opening pair, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt who gave them solid starts consistently which laid the foundation for the other batters to come in and go hard from the very first ball. However, KKR has released Phil Salt and will be looking for another overseas opener to fill the shoes of Phil Salt which could be quite challenging. KKR has purchased two overseas wicket-keeper batsman who will be the contenders for the opening slot. Quinton de Kock who had a poor run in the last season will be looking to retain his form to seal his spot in the first XI. Another contender is Rahmanullah Gurbaz who is a good hitter of the ball and can be quite handy in the powerplay but he is yet to prove himself at the IPL stage and will be looking forward to making a strong case for himself in this KKR lineup.
1. Quinton de Kock And Sunil Narine
This duo will be the most probable opening pair and one of the most destructive opening pairs across teams. Sunil Narine will be looking to carry his glorious season last season amassing 488 runs at a strike rate of 180. On the other hand, Quinton de Kock will be looking for some runs under his belt to secure his spot. This duo could be quite important to their plans considering their ability to score runs quick and give the team a solid start. KKR has a limitation to their choice of openers as Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are the only established wicket-keepers in the squad.
2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz And Sunil Narine
This opening pair could be their second choice pair due to the poor form of Gurbaz in recent times. Rahmanullah Gurbaz is still yet to prove himself on the big stage as he failed to even cross the 50 run mark last season. However, this opening pair could be a decent one as it provides the right hand-left hand combination which could advantage the pair. Both batsman could be quite destructive in the powerplay if they get going as they are good hitters of the ball. KKR will keep their fingers crossed hoping that one of their overseas wicket-keeper openers will perform well as they are the only experienced wicket-keeping options the team has acquired.
