RCB boosted by arrival of two key foreign players as Romario Shepherd and Liam Livingstone rejoin the squad.
RCB boosted by arrivals as Shepherd and Livingstone rejoin RCB squad.
Shepherd was joined by Dwayne Bravo, their coach, and Andre Russell and Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) West Indies.
Shepherd is a member of the West Indies’ ODI team for the May 21–25 series against England and Ireland, which begins on May 29, the day the IPL 2025 playoffs begin. Whether the West Indies players heading to England will be permitted to remain in India to complete their IPL obligations has not yet been confirmed by Cricket West Indies.
While Jacob Bethell has already returned to the team, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone has also joined RCB. Livingstone has been removed from both the ODI and T20I teams, while Bethell is included in England’s white-ball teams for the home series against the West Indies.
Bethell will fly home prior to the match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and be ready for RCB’s next two games against KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
With 16 points from 11 games, RCB appears to be in a strong position to be among the top four teams in the IPL 2025 points standings and earn a spot in the playoffs. Bethell will be one of the England players missing the playoffs, as was previously reported. The IPL 2025 final was originally scheduled on May 25, but the ECB gave its players no-objection certificates (NOCs) until then. Bethell was consequently left off of England’s roster for the four-day Test match against Zimbabwe, which begins on May 29.
Additionally, it’s unclear when Josh Hazlewood and Lungi Ngidi will return. Had the IPL not been delayed, Hazlewood would have been expected to miss the rest of the competition due to a shoulder issue.
For the rest of IPL 2025, Phil Salt, whose illness permitted Bethell to make his IPL debut, will be available. Only three days after the rescheduled IPL final, on June 6, England will play the West Indies in the Twenty20 Internationals.