"They will be relieved" - Former fast-bowler's huge statement on RCB ahead of IPL 2025 match vs SRH

Former India pacer Varun Aaron feels that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) being shifted out of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium might be a blessing in disguise for Rajat Patidar and co.

The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between the Southern Rivals, scheduled for May 23, will now take place at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow instead.

The late change in schedule was brought about after a red alert was issued in Bengaluru. RCB's previous home clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the first after IPL 2025 resumption, was washed out due to rain without a ball being bowled.

Despite consecutive wins at home, RCB have largely struggled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the 2025 season. All three of their losses in the campaign have come at the venue as they remain unbeaten away from home.

The former RCB bowler opined that the franchise would be relieved over the fact that they do not have to play at the Chinnaswamy.

"For sure (RCB will be happy to play away), but you have to got to see that in most of their matches, they lost the toss in Bengaluru. They batted first, they were not able to assess the wicket. The captain thought it was going to be a good batting wicket, in fact even most of the guys who did the pitch report thought it was going to be a good batting wicket, and it turned out to be a sticky wicket," Aaron said on ESPN Cricinfo.

"They will be relieved, all in all, but sad for the Bengaluru fans. I think it's going to be good for RCB, anything out of Bengaluru is going to be good. One, because of the rain, and even if they had to play there, the wicket was going to be very, very tacky. Their batting lineup will always do better on a solid, hard wicket," he added.

RCB's last league stage game is also scheduled to be played at the Ekana Stadium against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, May 27.

RCB head coach Andy Flower and all-rounder Krunal Pandya are well-versed with conditions at the Ekana after their three-year stint with LSG. The three-time finalists have only played once at the venue so far, securing an 18-run win in a low-scoring thriller during the 2023 IPL.

"We're disappointed not to be playing tomorrow's game in Bengaluru" - RCB head coach Andy Flower

RCB played their last complete match in IPL 2025 on May 3, when they defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by two runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Following the restart of IPL 2025, they have a couple of unavailability issues.

Tim Seifert has been named replacement for all-rounder Jacob Bethell, who has been called by England for the white-ball series against the West Indies. Josh Hazlewood, on the other hand, is yet to rejoin the squad.

"We're disappointed not to be playing tomorrow's game in Bangalore, but we've had to roll with that. We trained in Bangalore yesterday around lunch time, flew here, have a training session tonight [Thursday] and we'll be ready to go," Andy Flower said during the pre-match press conference (via ESPN Cricinfo).

A win over SRH could propel RCB to the top following GT's recent loss to LSG at home.