"We'll have a new champion...": BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla ahead of IPL 2025 final

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 3 (ANI): Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajeev Shukla expressed excitement for the Indian Premier League (IPL) final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), saying that the team that plays better will win and that "it should not rain."
RCB and PBKS will face off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday, hoping to end their title drought.
RCB have qualified for the Indian Premier League final thrice in the past, losing all three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016. PBKS, on the other hand, qualified for the final once in 2014 when they were known as Kings XI Punjab, losing the match to Kolkata Knight Riders.
"It is the IPL final match today. Everyone has come here expecting it to be an exciting match. Fans from all over the country have come here to watch the match because, for the first time, two fresh teams are fighting out in the final, and we will have a new champion," the BCCI VP said while speaking to the media.
"Neither of the teams became a champion in the last 18 years, and today, one of them would be one. So, this is new for the people. So, people are excited. On one hand, we have a team of Virat Kohli and on the other hand, we have a team of Shreyas Iyer. The one who plays better will win. But it should not rain," Shukla added.
Notably, rain delayed the Qualifier Two contest between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), but no overs were lost.
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Blessing Muzarabani, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash. (ANI)