Virat Kohli failed miserably in the Border Gavaskar trophy despite a 2nd innings century in the 1st Test at Perth. He ended up managing just 190 runs in 5 Tests at an average of 23.75. His weakness of chasing the outside off-stump deliveries was smartly exploited by the Australian pacers. India Test cricket team eventually lost the BGT 3-1 after a decade. This failure has raised rumours of Virat Kohli in county cricket, which we will discuss further in this article, along with RCB playoff chances in IPL 2025.
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Will Fans See Virat Kohli in County Cricket？
Rumours erupted that modern-day legend Virat Kohli is going to feature in the County Championship to prepare himself for the five-match Test Series against England cricket team, which will get underway on June 20th at Leeds. The Series will be played across three other cities: Birmingham, Manchester, and London (Lord’s and The Oval).
When Will County Cricket Kick Off？
County Championship Division One and Two starts from 4th April 2025, and will run till September 27th. The IPL is scheduled to take place between 21st March and 25th May. There is close to a one-month gap between the IPL Final and the 1st Test, however, in that period there are no County Championship matches scheduled as there will be a break for other formats.
Possibility of Seeing Virat Kohli in County Cricket
The only chance we have of seeing Virat Kohli in county cricket is if RCB misses the IPL playoffs. Even if the RCB playoff chances are less, it is unlikely that Virat Kohli will risk straightaway jumping into county cricket as only a couple of matches are scheduled (May 16-20 and May 23-26) between the IPL playoffs and the first Test. The County Championship then resumes on June 22nd, which leads us to conclude that “Virat Kohli in county cricket” is a rumour and nothing more.
Analysis：IPL Playoff Chances for RCB Team
Star player Kohli belongs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, so his team’s strength and lineup have garnered significant attention in this season’s IPL. RCB playoff chances for the upcoming IPL 2025 are getting discussed regularly in the media and social platforms. IPL playoff chances for RCB are more given the management did well in the auction. The management did put in the hard work day in and day out to get the best players for the upcoming IPL season.
Related Article：Royal Challengers Bengaluru Players 2025：Complete Squad List
The RCB class of 2025. pic.twitter.com/oeHRshef1k
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 26, 2024
Full RCB Players in IPL 2025
- Virat Kohli
- Rajat Patidar
- Phil Salt (wk)
- Jitesh Sharma (wk)
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Swastik Chikara
- Liam Livingstone
- Krunal Pandya
- Swapnil Singh
- Tim David
- Romario Shepherd
- Manoj Bhandage
- Jacob Bethell
- Josh Hazlewood
- Rasikh Salam
- Suyash Sharma
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Nuwan Thushara
- Lungi Ngidi
- Abhinandan Singh
- Mohit Rathee
- Yash Dayal
RCB’s Lineup Arrangement
They have brought more firepower to their batting order that already has Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar (retained). RCB mainly targeted the English cricketers and picked Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, and Liam Livingstone, who are all flexible in the batting line-up. In addition to that, they found a perfect replacement for Will Jacks in the form of Aussie striker Tim David, who brings the next level of skill into the mix. The likes of local talents Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, and Swastik Chikara provide more options.
Strong Power
All-rounders Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd will play a big role in order to boost RCB playoff chances. They have got renowned specialist seamers in their ranks including Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, and Lungi Ngidi. Keep a watch on uncapped quicks – Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, and Abhinandan Singh. In addition, their squad has a variety of spin options that feature Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, and Mohit Rathee.
Conclusion
IPL playoff chances for RCB look immense given their squad composition. This year RCB has assembled an all-around unit that possesses the potential to lift the coveted IPL trophy. We can safely say we will not see Virat Kohli in county cricket before the England series.
