Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum will leave the setup after taking up the head coach role for the England Test team. McCullum reportedly is the favorite to replace Chris Silverwood as the next England Test team coach. However, it will be the first assignment for the 40-year-old as a full-time head coach for a nation. Brendon McCullum has coached the Trinbago Knight Riders in Caribbean Premier League alongside taking KKR to the finals last year.

Also Read: Brendon McCullum emerges as the favorite to become the new England Test coach

It has to be noted that Brendon McCullum was one of the most aggressive batters in his playing years. Meanwhile, he still holds the record for the fastest Test century off just 54 balls in the 2015/16 season against Australia. He has the highest score of 302 in the longer format. Moreover, his mode of approach to the game has been transferred into his coaching style as well.

England, after facing a 0-4 loss in the Ashes last year, sacked Silverwood from the head coach position and Paul Collingwood was appointed as the interim head coach for the next Test series against West Indies.

However, England yet again lost 0-1 in West Indies and the search for the full-time head coach role continued. Many names were discussed in the last few weeks, it has finally come down to Brendon McCullum. Meanwhile, the official announcement is expected to come soon.

"He informed us that he won't be part of KKR going ahead": Sources

A KKR insider revealed that McCullum has already revealed in a meeting a few days ago about leaving the franchise after the current season. However, then he will take up the head coach role for the England side. England is set to host New Zealand for a three-match Test series in June. Interestingly, Brendon McCullum will have to start his assignment against his birth nation.

"He informed us that he won't be part of KKR going ahead as he will be taking up a job as England cricket team coach. He informed us during a team meeting a few days ago"

a KKR insider said as quoted by the Indian Express

Read Also: Suryakumar Yadav might miss the T20I series against South Africa

In a highly competitive tournament like IPL, every match counts. The pressure intensifies during playoffs and Eliminator is one such example of an high-pressure knockout match. 

From close defeats to disappointing ones, want to know which teams could not manage to survive this round the most times?

Here's the teams with most IPL Eliminator defeats.

Introduction of Eliminator in IPL

IPL's playoff format expanded in 2011 with introduction of Eliminator and Qualifier matches. The previous 3 seasons consisted of two semi-finals, involving the top 4 teams.

The introduction of Eliminator added another layer of excitement and intensity to the game ever since.

Read Also: Most IPL Finals: Teams with most final appearances in IPL history

Teams with most IPL Eliminator defeats

Plenty of teams consistently made their ways to Eliminator by ending up in the 3rd or 4th place in league stage, but only few could make it to the next round.

We have 2 franchises with equal number of defeats in here.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (3 defeats)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are yet to have their fairytale ending in IPL. They appeared in Eliminator 5 times and lost thrice out of them, which is most number of defeats by a team in IPL Eliminator.

• IPL 2020: lost to SRH by 6 wickets
• IPL 2021: lost to KKR by 4 wickets
• IPL 2024: lost to RR by 4 wickets 

Sunrisers Hyderabad (3 defeats)

Sunrisers Hyderabad shares the joint position with RCB for having equal number of IPL Eliminator defeats. They also played 5 Eliminator matches, and lost 3 out of them.

• IPL 2013: lost to RR by 4 wickets 
• IPL 2017: lost to KKR by 7 wickets 
• IPL 2019: lost to DC by 2 wickets

Read Also: Highest individual scores by players in IPL playoffs

Other teams with more than one defeat in IPL Eliminator

The intensity of IPL playoffs brings out extraordinary performances. Several players have set the bar high with their fearless batting skills and bagging those victories for the teams.

With the IPL 2025 playoffs approaching, it is the best time to examine the highest individual scores by players in the IPL playoffs.

Check out the full list of the highest individual scores by players in the IPL playoffs.

1. Shubham Gill (129 runs) | GT

Shubham Gill shattered all the big batting records of IPL playoffs with his unbelievable knock of 129 runs off 60 balls against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023 Qualifier 2.

His performance as an opening batsman took Gujarat Titans to a huge total of 233 runs, which they defended comfortably and booked their final berth.

This groundbreaking knock tops the chart for the highest individual scores by players in IPL playoffs.

Read Also: Most IPL Finals: Teams with most final appearances in IPL history

2. Virender Sehwag (122 runs) | PBKS

Virender Sehwag's 122 runs off 58 balls against CSK was the long-standing record of the highest individual score in playoffs for 9 years.

This sensational knock in Qualifier 2 helped Punjab Kings reach the IPL final for the first time.

3. Shane Watson (117* runs) | CSK

The Australian legend, Shane Watson, holds the third position with his 117* runs from 57 balls against SRH in the IPL 2018 Final.

His phenomenal performance led the Chennai Super Kings to their third IPL victory.

Watson smashed 11 fours and 8 sixes, with a strike rate above 200.

Read Also: Safest hands: Most catches in IPL history

4. Wriddhiman Saha (115* runs) | PBKS

An incredible season for the boy of Bengal, Wriddhiman Saha, who dominated till the very end against KKR in the IPL 2014 Final. He scored an unbeaten 115 runs from just 55 balls and helped PBKS reach a defendable total. Saha's ton was the first ton ever scored in an IPL final.

Even though Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a brilliant victory in that match, Saha's performance won the hearts of the fans!

5. Murali Vijay (113 runs) | CSK

Murali Vijay single-handedly took CSK to a humongous total in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012. His remarkable contribution of 113 runs from 58 balls made things easier for their team.

With this victory against Delhi Capitals, CSK headed towards the Final and Murali Vijay was rewarded player of the match.

Read Also: Most Sixes in an innings by an Indian in IPL

6. Rajat Patidar (112*) | RCB

Rajat Patidar has proven to be one of the impactful figures for Royal Challengers Bengaluru ever since his debut in 2021. He left a stellar lasting impression with his knock of 112* runs from 54 balls against LSG in IPL 2022 Eliminator.

His contribution was extremely crucial for the team as their batting line-up collapsed early in the first innings. However, RCB successfully defeated LSG to move ahead in the tournament, with credit to Patidar.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have announced ticket refunds for their IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which was called off without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain on Saturday.

Also Read: IPL 2025 updated squads and full replacement list of each team

RCB announced on their social media handle on X that they will provide a refund to the ticket holders for the cancelled IPL 2025 game against KKR at the Chinnaswamy.

🚨 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐂𝐁 𝐯𝐬 𝐊𝐊𝐑 🎟️

As the game between RCB and KKR on 17th May 2025 was abandoned due to inclement weather, all valid ticket holders are eligible for a full refund.

Digital ticket holders will… pic.twitter.com/Wfpub1p5h3

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 18, 2025

"As the game between RCB and KKR on 17th May 2025 was abandoned due to inclement weather, all valid ticket holders are eligible for a full refund," the franchise said in a statement.

"Digital ticket holders will receive their refunds within 10 working days to the original account used to book the tickets. In case you do not receive the refund by 31st May, kindly send an email to refund@ticketgenie.in with your booking details to escalate the matter."

Both teams awarded one point each

After Saturday's rain, both RCB and KKR were awarded one point each. RCB topped the IPL 2025 points table with 17 points from 12 matches and moved closer to sealing their place in the playoffs, while KKR were out of the race for the top four with 12 points from 13 matches.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Will Mitchell Starc have to pay the price for pulling out mid-way? Explained

RCB to seal their place in playoffs 

RCB will now host Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 23 and then take on Lucknow Super Giants on May 27. RCB can seal their place in the last four even before playing their next match, as they will advance if either Punjab Kings or Delhi Capitals lose on Sunday.

As the much-awaited IPL 2025 is set to resume from May 17, after facing disruption for several days due to the India-Pakistan conflict. As a result, many overseas players, who had flown back to their respective countries, are facing trouble rejoining their IPL franchises.

Some have stated injury issues, while others have their international commitments ahead. Therefore, each team had to make certain changes and sign temporary replacements for the remaining matches.

Find the IPL 2025 updated squads and full replacement list of each team below.

List of replacement players and their reason for inclusion 

Read Also: IPL 2025 Restart: Here's the playoff scenarios before IPL 2025 resumes

Breakdown of updated squads for the remainder of IPL 2025

Here's the team-wise updated squad for the remainder of IPL 2025:

Gujarat Titans 

A sigh of relief for GT fans, as Jos Buttler will play the remaining 3 matches of league stage. He will fly out before playoffs for his national commitments.

Shubman Gill (c), Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, B. Sai Sudharshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Gerald Coetzee, Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Sherfane Rutherford, R. Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 

No official confirmation has been received yet regarding Josh Hazlewood rejoining RCB for the remainder of IPL 2025.

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

Read Also: IPL 2025: Here are the overseas players who might not come for the remainder of the tournament

Punjab Kings 

Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Kyle Jamieson.

Mumbai Indians 

Hardik Pandya (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, Venkat Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Raghu Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Corbin Bosch.

Delhi Capitals 

Mitchell Starc won't make a comeback for the remainder of IPL 2025 due to his national commitments. However, there is no announcement of his replacement yet.

Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Mustafizur Rahman, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Tristian Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmanta Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

Read Also: IPL 2025: Will Mitchell Starc have to pay the price for pulling out mid-way? Explained

Kolkata Knight Riders 

Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Chetan Sakariya, Moeen Ali.

Lucknow Super Giants 

Rishabh Pant (c), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bisnoi, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ayush Badoni, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, William O'Rourke, Shardul Thakur.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Harsh Dubey, Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Aniket Verma, Eshan Malinga, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder.

Rajasthan Royals 

Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Wainindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak, Fazal Farooqi, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma, Nandre Burger, Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Chennai Super Kings 

MS Dhoni (c), Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Nathan Ellis, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Andre Siddarth.

Cricket has always been a bridge across cultures, a phenomenon that connects players with fans from all around the world. Situations often force people to migrate from one country to the other. There have been instances when cricketers were born in different nations but ultimately played for a different country.

Let's take a look at the cricket facts of cricketers who didn't play for their country.

Also Read: "Wear whites for Virat": RCB fans in Bengaluru to wear white for Virat Kohli Test tribute

Cricket Facts | Cricketers who didn't play for their country

5. Glenn Phillips (South Africa-born)

New Zealand cricket all-rounder Glenn Philips moved from East London, South Africa to New Zealand at the age of five. He pursued his education in New Zealand, where he began his cricket journey. Having made his domestic debut with Auckland, he signed with Otago to play alongside his brother, Dale Phillips, in 2022. Interestingly, he made his international debut against South Africa, the country where he was born.

4. Ish Sodhi (India-born)

Inderbir Singh 'Ish' Sodhi was born in Ludhiana, India, on October 31, 1992, and spent his early years in New Zealand. He made his New Zealand debut as a leg-spinner in 2013, and since then, he has been a reliable performer in limited-overs forms, contributing significantly to the country's T20 World Cup campaigns.

3. Devon Conway (South Africa-born)

After playing for Gauteng and the Highveld Lions, Devon Conway moved to New Zealand in 2017 and made an immediate impact. He was the leading run-scorer in both the 2018-19 Plunket Shield (659) and 2018-19 Super Smash (363). Conway became eligible to play for New Zealand in August 2020 and has since become a key player for them across all formats. He averages 36.72 after 27 Tests and has also made 36 ODI and 50 T20I appearances.

2. Marnus Labuschagne (South Africa-born)

Marnus Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, in South Africa. His family moved to Australia when he was 10. Labuschagne made his Australia debut in Tests in 2018, after Steve Smith suffered an injury during the Ashes tour. Since then the prolific batter has emulated the batting prowess of his best friend and has not looked back. 

Speaking of his impressive international cricket career for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne has played 57 Tests, scoring 4396 runs with 11 centuries, and played 63 ODIs, scoring 1869 runs with two centuries. He has also played one T20I match.

Also Read: Fav four in Test cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith stats in Tests

1. Ben Stokes (New Zealand-born)

Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in June 1991. His family moved to Cumbria when Stokes was 12 years old after his father was appointed head coach at Workington Town Rugby League Club.

Stokes has played for England in all three formats. Stokes is regarded as one of England's greatest all-rounders in the history of the sport. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.