Former India player Aakash Chopra has said that the RCB would be happy as they haven’t been hit too hard due
to player unavailability for the rest of IPL 2025. He added that Romario Shepherd’s likely presence for the rest of the season has resolved a lot of problems. With 16 points from 11 games, RCB are placed second on the points table.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Gujarat Titans and RCB were a little worried. GT were slightly more worried. Of course, you have kept Kusal Mendis in place of Jos Buttler, but there is a massive difference between the two. After that, if your No. 4 Sherfane Rutherford had also gone, and Kagiso Rabada had gone from below, you would have been stuck. Rabada and Jos Buttler will go, but Sherfane Rutherford will stay.”

“RCB have suddenly come together as a unit. It seems like everything is falling into place. It’s good news for RCB because if Romario Shepherd hadn’t been available after playing such a terrific knock, it would have become a bit of an issue. Then you would have been forced to play Liam Livingstone, but that’s not the case now,” he further added.

However, Aakash Chopra also stated that RCB can play Lungi Ngidi in the remaining three league games and go ahead with Nuwan Thushara in the playoffs as well.

“You can play Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Phil Salt and Tim David this evening. When Lungi Ngidi goes, you can play Nuwan Thushara. At least, you are not forced to play Liam Livingstone. If he is not doing well, you can leave him out, but it would have only been possible if Romario Shepherd had stayed,” he said.

“Since Romario Shepherd is there, there is no problem. Another good news for RCB is that we are hearing that Josh Hazlewood might miss the league stage but be available for the playoffs. If that happens, another great news from RCB’s perspective,” Aakash Chopra concluded.