RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today’s IPL match – May 17, 2025

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) face off in the 58th match of IPL 2025 on Saturday, May 17, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It's the first match of the IPL post resumption following the temporary suspension of the league on May 9.

With the league well into its business end, qualification scenarios and calculations must be etched deep into the minds of the franchises. Hosts RCB will be targeting a top-two finish, with a win over KKR hugely boosting their prospects in that regard.

Meanwhile, KKR's defeat to CSK heavily dented their playoff chances. They need to win both their remaining matches and hope some other results go their way to stay in the competition.

Let's look at three players who would make good Dream11 captaincy choices in this contest.

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#3 Andre Russell (ALL) (KKR)

Andre Russell has played a few whirlwind cameos at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Caribbean powerhouse Andre Russell has returned to form with the bat in KKR's last couple of outings and stands a chance of adding many maximums to his tally in this fixture. The potential of a rain-curtailed match only increases his point-scoring chances as KKR are likely to bat him higher up the order to maximize his six-hitting abilities.

At a small venue like the Chinnaswamy Stadium, even his mishits could sail over the fence. Given their pace-bowling frailties, Russell could also contribute handsomely with the ball like he has all season, making him the KKR bowler with the third-best bowling average.

His high points ceiling makes him a valuable Dream11 captaincy choice.

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#2 Virat Kohli (BAT) (RCB)

The RCB opener has embodied consistency in IPL 2025, and has been one of the most dependable batters in the league, scoring 505 runs in 11 innings at an average of 63.13. Fresh off announcing his Test retirement, Kohli is likely to receive raucous support from the RCB faithful, and with lots of uncertainty over player availability amid the resumption of the IPL, he is one batter who you can usually rely on to score runs regardless of the circumstances.

His high boundary percentage in the powerplay matches up quite well with KKR's expensive and erratic new-ball lineup, and he could register a solid Dream11 haul in the powerplay itself. He's easily one of the best captaincy options in this match.

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#1 Sunil Narine (ALL) (KKR)

While he may not have replicated his heroics from last season's stellar campaign, Sunil Narine is still the No.1 player on the Most Valuable Player Index, with his ten wickets, 22 boundaries, and 16 sixes, unmatched by any other player in the league.

He's all but sure to open the batting and complete his quota of overs regardless of how rain influences the game, making him a very bankable Dream11 option with quite a high points ceiling. He's sure to be one of the most-captained players on Dream11 tonight and rightfully so.