Picking an U-25 playing XI with Impact Sub for IPL 2025 ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal & Noor Ahmad

The IPL 2025 was as unpredictable a season as any from start to finish, culminating with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning their maiden title. The season also saw Chennai Super Kings (CSK) finish at the bottom of the standings for the first time in league history.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finished at a lowly eighth position despite retaining most of their core players. Perennial underachievers Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned most by finishing on top of the points table at the end of the league stages and advancing to only their second final in 18 seasons.

Amid the several unpredictabilities, the number of young players who made a name for themselves with the bat and ball remained constant. While some have already played for their national sides, others came out of nowhere to capture the fans' attention.

On that note, let us look at the best playing XI of IPL 2025 among those under 25.

Note: The playing XI has been picked predominantly based on the best performers in the position they played in for most of the season.

Openers: Sai Sudharsan & Yashasvi Jaiswal

It is hard to look past the left-handed duo of Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the two openers. The former finished as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2025 with 759 runs at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of 156.17 in 15 outings.

Sai played a massive role with his consistent run-scoring in the Gujarat Titans' (GT) qualification to the playoffs. Sai's opening partner in this lineup, Jaiswal, overcame a modest start to his IPL 2025 campaign to finish strong. He ended with 559 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of almost 160 in 14 matches.

Despite his top-order heroics, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished second from bottom on the points table.

The duo overcame stiff competition from other openers like Abhishek Sharma, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh, among others, under 25.

Middle Order: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel & Nehal Wadhera

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi took a massive leap in his second IPL season. Despite batting at various positions from No.3 to 7 in the batting order, the 21-year-old impressed fans and experts with sublime stroke play.

He finished with 300 runs at an average of 33.33 and a strike rate of 139.53 in 12 matches.

The RR middle-order duo of Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel come in next at No.4 and 5 in this Under-25 lineup. The former tapered off slightly from last year but finished with 393 runs at an average of 32.75 and a strike rate of 166.52 in 14 games. The 23-year-old was also valuable with the ball, picking up three wickets at an economy of 8.50 in 20 overs of bowling.

Meanwhile, Jurel was RR's finisher for most of the season, pulling off several impressive knocks under trying circumstances. The 24-year-old scored 333 runs at an average of 37 and a strike rate of 156.33 in 14 outings.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be fondly remembered for the number of uncapped young Indian players they made household names in IPL 2025. Nehal Wadhera was one such in the middle-order, scoring 369 runs at an average of almost 31 and a strike rate of 145.84 in 16 games.

The 24-year-old southpaw played a massive role in PBKS finishing at the top of the standings and advancing to the final.

Bowlers/Bowling all-rounders: Vipraj Nigam, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Digvesh Rathi & Eshan Malinga

Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Vipraj Nigam impressed everyone concerned with the bat and ball in his debut IPL season. The 20-year-old provided incredible balance to the DC lineup with his ability to bowl leg-spin at all stages of the innings and bat at different gears in the middle to lower middle-order.

Nigam finished the season with 142 runs at a strike rate of almost 180 and picked up 11 wickets in 14 matches.

The other two spinners in this Under-25 lineup from IPL 2025 include Noor Ahmad and Digvesh Rathi. The former was one of the few bright spots in a forgettable campaign for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), finishing with 24 wickets at an average of 17 and an economy of 8.16 in 14 games.

Meanwhile, Digvesh held a sub-par Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowling attack with 14 wickets at an average of 30.64 and an economy of 8.25 in 13 outings.

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacers Eshan Malinga and Anshul Kamboj round off the playing XI. The duo did not feature in their respective sides' XI in the initial stages of the competition but left an impression in the second half of IPL 2025.

Malinga finished with 13 wickets in seven matches at an average of 18.30 and an economy of under nine. Kamboj became CSK's powerplay specialist, finishing with eight wickets in as many matches at an average of 21.50 and an economy of eight.

Impact Sub: Dewald Brevis

CSK's disastrous 2025 season took a slight upswing when their mid-season signing, Dewald Brevis, injected life into their batting in the end-overs. The 22-year-old played the final six matches and finished with 225 runs at an average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 180.

Brevis also became CSK's standout fielder, pulling off several spectacular catches in the deep.

U-25 playing XI with Impact Sub for IPL 2025

Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Riyan Parag (c). Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Vipraj Nigam, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Eshan Malinga, Digvesh Rathi

Impact Sub: Dewald Brevis