Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and decided to bowl first in their opening game of the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL) season but their playing XI had a notable omission as Shreyanka Patil was not included despite the youngster winning the purple cap last season.

Shreyanka's absence is not a case of the player being dropped but RCB have been forced to make the decision due to an injury. The 22-year-old has not played any competitive cricket since the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand in October, BCCI had revealed Shreyanka was suffering from 'shin splits.' The youngster missed the team's tour of Australia as well as white-ball assignments at home against West Indies and Ireland due to injury. There is no confirmation from RCB on her injury status and comeback date till now.

There are suggestions that Shreyanka has been ruled out of the 2025 WPL after her cryptic Instagram post just after the toss indicating the same. Some reports have stated that Sneh Ran, will replace her.

Meanwhile, Ellyse Perry confirmed before the match in an interaction with the host broadcaster that she would not ball in the first few matches of the tournament. The star all-rounder suffered a hip injury during the Women's Ashes Test between Australia and England at MCG last month and still nursing the issue which means that Mandhana will not be able to use one of her prime bowlers from last season.

Shreyanka was the highest wicket-taker in WPL 2024 with 13 wickets in eight matches. Earlier, she burst on the scene with six wickets in seven matches.

Talking about Perry, she is arguably the greatest player in women's cricket history and won the orange cap in RCB's 2024 title-winning season. She made 347 runs in nine matches at an average of 69.40 with two half-centuries. She also made an important contribution with the ball with seven wickets in seven matches at an economy of 6.81.

Shreyanka's absence and Perry's inability to bowl add to RCB's woes, whose title defense has been hit with major player unavailability. Sophie Devine has decided to skip the event due to personal reasons while Sophie Molineux, Kate Cross, and Asha Shobhana have been ruled out due to injuries.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Richa Ghosh(w), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Prema Rawat, Joshitha V J, Renuka Thakur Singh

Gujarat Giants Playing XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney(w), Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner(c), Deandra Dottin, Harleen Deol, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Kashvee Gautam

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