New Delhi, May 15 (H.S.): The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has received a major advantage from the revised schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025). West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd and England’s Liam Livingstone have rejoined the team. Along with Shepherd, Kolkata Knight Riders players Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and mentor Dwayne Bravo have also returned to India.

Shepherd is part of the West Indies ODI team that will play a series against England starting May 29. Coincidentally, this is also the date of the IPL 2025 playoffs. So far, Cricket West Indies has not clarified whether the players going on the England tour will be able to participate in the remaining IPL matches.

Liam Livingstone has now joined RCB. He has been dropped from England’s ODI and T20 teams, which means he will be available until the end of the IPL. Meanwhile, Jacob Bethell has already rejoined the team and will play in the next two matches against KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad. After that, he will return to England. He has not been selected for the Test series starting May 29 against Zimbabwe.

Phil Salt, who missed out due to illness, allowing Bethell to make his debut, is now fully fit and will be available for the remaining IPL matches. He is only included in England’s T20 team, and the series against West Indies starts on June 6, just three days after the IPL final.

RCB is in a strong position in the top-4 race with 16 points from 11 matches. The team now needs just a few more points to qualify for the playoffs. However, the final decision on the availability of England and South Africa players will come in the upcoming days, which could affect the team’s strategy.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar