The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to a thrilling end with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally lifting their maiden IPL trophy. In a nerve-wracking final played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 3, RCB held their nerves to defeat the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by just six runs, etching their name in IPL history.
Shubman Gill left out as Aakash Chopra unveils his best XI of IPL 2025
With the tournament now concluded and the dust settled, several former cricketers and analysts have begun naming their Best Playing XIs of IPL 2025. Among them is former India opener and current commentator Aakash Chopra, who also joined the post-season bandwagon by revealing his Best XI of the tournament on his YouTube channel.
Interestingly, Chopra’s selection did not feature a big name in form of Shubman Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans (GT), who had decent seasons but didn’t do enough to break into Chopra’s top XI. From the finalists, four players made it to Chopra’s team, three from champions RCB and one from runners-up PBKS. In his video, Chopra broke down each pick with strong reasoning backed by performances and match-winning contributions.
Openers: Sai Sudharsan and Virat Kohli
- Sai Sudharsan (GT)
Chopra chose Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan, who ended the tournament as the Orange Cap winner, as the first opener in his side.
“Firstly, I have kept Sai Sudharsan in my team. He is the Orange Cap holder and has played very well. His batting has been clean. At the end of the tournament, he had so many trophies. It seems the guy is a trophy king. He didn’t win the IPL trophy this year, but he did everything else and a bit more,”
- Virat Kohli (RCB)
Partnering Sudharsan at the top is Virat Kohli, who played a key role in RCB’s journey to the title.
“Virat Kohli will be there alongside him in my team. His performance was very good throughout the year. He scored fifties in most of the games away from home, and the team won whenever he scored a fifty. He played an important role. You also saw gears in his batting this year,”
Middle Order: Jos Buttler, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis
- No. 3: Jos Buttler (GT) – Wicketkeeper
Chopra picked GT’s Jos Buttler over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)‘s Heinrich Klaasen as the wicketkeeper-batter for his side.
“At No. 3, I have kept Jos Buttler as my wicketkeeper-batter. He batted extremely well and scored more than 500 runs. I was a little 50-50 between Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klaasen, but I thought Klaasen didn’t score as many runs in winning causes, and Jos Buttler was phenomenal,”
- No. 4: Shreyas Iyer (PBKS) – Captain
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer was not only picked for his batting, but Chopra also named him the captain of his team.
“At No. 4, I have got Shreyas Iyer. He captained extremely well. He combined the five fingers and made a fist. Bengaluru was the only team against whom he didn’t score runs, and that proved expensive in the end. He was absolute gold dust. Shreyas Iyer is my captain,”
- No. 5: Suryakumar Yadav (MI)
Despite playing slightly out of position, Suryakumar Yadav earned his place at No. 5 for his consistent match-winning knocks.
“At No. 5, I have kept Suryakumar Yadav. I know he has been kept slightly down the order, but what can I do? He was the most valuable player. The way he batted – unreal. He scored more than 25 runs every time, and we got to see different shades of Suryakumar Yadav every time,”
- No. 6: Dewald Brevis (CSK)
Dewald Brevis of CSK was picked ahead of PBKS’ Shashank Singh and Mumbai Indians (MI)’s Naman Dhir.
“At No. 6, I have got Dewald Brevis. Again, multiple contenders, Shashank Singh could have been here, or I could have thought about Naman Dhir, but I am going with Dewald. He played fewer games, but how well he played. He has got something. He has done an exceptional job, and his fielding was also terrific,”
Brevis was one of CSK’s top performers, scoring 225 runs at a strike rate of 180.00 in six innings.
Also READ: From Virat Kohli to Shreyas Iyer: Team of the tournament for IPL 2025
- All-Rounder: Krunal Pandya (RCB)
The only all-rounder in Chopra’s XI is RCB’s Krunal Pandya, who was instrumental in their title-winning campaign.
“Only one Pandya can come, and that’s Krunal Pandya. He is a bona fide IPL legend, whether you believe it or not. He is the only player who has two Player of the Match performances in IPL finals. He had three Player of the Match performances in RCB’s winning campaign,”
Specialist Bowlers
- 8. Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
“After that, Jasprit Bumrah. Jassi was beautiful. The ball he bowled to hit Washington Sundar’s stumps was magical. He had one bad game, and Mumbai were knocked out. Apart from that, he didn’t concede more than 30 runs in any match. Jasprit Bumrah is that Kohinoor,”
- 9. Noor Ahmad (CSK)
“Then there is Noor Ahmad. He played for Chennai, and the Purple Cap was on his head for a long time. The team finished at the bottom of the table, but Noor Ahmad was very good,”
- 10. Josh Hazlewood (RCB)
“One of the two remaining bowlers is Josh Hazlewood, who never loses a final. With Josh, RCB conceded 200 runs only once in the tournament. Without him, they conceded 200 runs in each of the three games,”
- 11. Prasidh Krishna (GT) – Purple Cap Winner
“Then, of course, I am going with Prasidh Krishna. He is the Purple Cap holder. Again, very similar to Josh Hazlewood. hits the deck hard and bowls slightly short of length. He had to bowl full and with the new ball later, and that’s where he lost a little bit of sheen and penetration, but he dismissed Rohit Sharma too,”
Impact Player Options
To round off, Chopra named four impact players who narrowly missed out on a starting XI spot but impressed him greatly:
- Mitchell Marsh (LSG)
- Hardik Pandya (MI)
- Naman Dhir (MI)
- Harpreet Brar (PBKS)
