IPL playoffs: How the four teams stack up
Who are the players unavailable? And what have been the key takeaways?
Hemant Brar
28-May-2025
Unlike previous seasons, the four playoffs teams for IPL 2025 were known well before the league stage ended. But it took till the last league match to decide who plays whom. Punjab Kings (RCB), who topped the table, will face the second-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, while Gujarat Titans (GT) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Eliminator on Friday. Both matches will be played in Mullanpur. With several overseas players leaving to join their national teams, here's a look at how the four teams stack up before the playoffs.
Players unavailable for playoffs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Lungi Ngidi
Replacements: Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Blessing Muzarabani
Key takeaway: Tim David sat out of RCB's last league game with a hamstring injury and remains "a work in progress", according to team mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik. Among those who have scored at least 100 runs this season, David has the sixth-highest strike rate (185.14). If he stays unavailable, it will rob RCB of the lower-middle-order firepower. Can Liam Livingstone, who has a strike rate of 126.08 this season, up his game in David's absence?
On the bright side, Josh Hazlewood is likely to be available for Qualifier 1. He has been outstanding both in the powerplay and at the death. RCB's flawless away record this season - seven wins in seven matches - should also boost their confidence.
Likely best XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Tim David/Liam Livingstone, 8 Romario Shephard, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Yash Dayal, 11 Josh Hazlewood, 12 Suyash Sharma
Players unavailable for playoffs: Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Glenn Phillips
Replacements: Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka
Key takeaway: Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have scored almost 73% of GT's bat runs. Therefore, Buttler's unavailability leaves a massive hole for Kusal Mendis to fill. Another concern for GT is Rashid Khan's form. No matter what parameter you look at - average, strike rate or economy - he is having his worst IPL season. In 14 games, he has picked up just nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.47. He has been hit for 31 sixes, the joint-most for any bowler in an IPL season.
Likely best XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Gerald Coetzee, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 R Sai Kishore, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna
Players unavailable for playoffs: Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Lockie Ferguson
Replacements: Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Owen
Key takeaway: PBKS' biggest strength this season has been their Indian core, be it in the batting department or bowling. That said, Marco Jansen's absence will take away some sting from their bowling and lower-order batting. Can Kyle Jamieson step into those shoes? Yuzvendra Chahal missed the last two league games because of an issue with his right wrist but he is expected to be available for the playoffs.
Likely best XII: 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 3 Josh Inglis, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Harpreet Brar, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal
Players unavailable for playoffs: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, Corbin Bosch, Vignesh Puthur
Replacements: Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka, Richard Gleeson, Raghu Sharma
Key takeaway: Despite losing two of their last three games, MI remain a formidable unit. Moreover, Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks' unavailability should not affect them much. Jonny Bairstow can replace Rickelton at the top of the order and behind the stumps. To cover up for Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav can move up to No. 3 and one of Charith Asalanka and Bevon Jacobs can slot in the middle order. Asalanka can also chip in with his offspin if required.
Likely best XII: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Charith Asalanka/Bevon Jacobs, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Karn Sharma
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo