Adam Gilchrist has made a rather bold prediction regarding the upcoming IPL 2025, which is unlikely to sit well with fans of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The former Australian wicketkeeper-batter anticipates that the Bengaluru franchise will end up at the bottom of the league standings this season. The 18th edition of this lucrative tournament is set to commence on Saturday, March 22, with the inaugural match featuring the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), against RCB.

The match at Eden Gardens faces the possibility of rain, as the city has been placed under an orange alert. Nevertheless, prior to this eagerly awaited game, Gilchrist expressed his belief that RCB will finish last. He clarified that he holds no animosity towards RCB or its fans, including Virat Kohli's supporters, but humorously noted that the squad has an excess of "Englishmen."

For those unfamiliar, RCB acquired players such as Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Phil Salt during last year's mega auction. Salt is expected to open the batting for RCB alongside Kohli.

During an appearance on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, Gilchrist was prompted to identify his pick for the last place, to which he responded, "I think there's a fair chance it might be because I'm basing it on the fact that there's just too many Englishmen in the squad. So, RCB. On the back of having too many Englishmen in there."

He added, "Nothing against Virat, nothing against their fans. I apologize to the fans, but you've got to talk to your recruiting agents."

Rajat Patidar will lead RCB as captain in IPL 2025, and the franchise also includes notable players such as Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

RCB squad: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

'Delhi Capitals will come last'

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, has forecasted that the Delhi Capitals, under the leadership of Axar Patel, will finish at the bottom of the IPL 2025 standings. When asked to elaborate on his prediction, Vaughan expressed that the Delhi franchise lacks a "very good team" and is deficient in top-tier Indian batsmen.

Recently, the Delhi Capitals appointed Faf du Plessis as the vice-captain for the upcoming 18th edition of the tournament and have also brought Kevin Pietersen on board as a mentor.

"I simply don't believe they possess a strong team. My reasoning is that high-quality Indian batsmen are essential for success on those pitches. They have KL Rahul, but that's about it. The rest, including Karun Nair, Fraser McGurk, Faf du Plessis, and Tristan Stubbs, do not inspire confidence," Vaughan remarked during the podcast.

"While Axar Patel is a solid player, they seem to lack sufficient quality among Indian batsmen," he further noted.

The Delhi Capitals will kick off their IPL 2025 campaign on March 24 against the Lucknow Super Giants, led by Rishabh Pant, in Visakhapatnam.

Delhi Capitals squad: Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmanta Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

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