NEWS
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Sanjay Bangar has confirmed that leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be unavailable till April 9 due to international commitments. He has also added that Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been declared fit and is available for selection for the side's season opener against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday (April 2).
"Wanindu Hasaranga will be unavailable for us till the ninth of this month," said Bangar in the pre-match press conference.
Hararanga is currently in New Zealand, where he is representing Sri Lanka in a white-ball series against the hosts. He was part of Sri Lanka's One-Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand that lost 2-0. The two teams will now play a T20 International (T20I) series, starting Sunday (April 2) in Auckland.
Hasaranga was RCB's leading wicket-taker in IPL 2022, picking up 26 wickets in 16 games at an economy rate of 7.54.
With Josh Hazlewood also slated to miss a significant portion of the tournament, Bangar said that they had anticipated it and as a result bought Reece Topley in the auction.
"We sort of anticipated it (Hazlewood missing IPL games) and it was factored in the auction and pre-auction meetings. Reece Topley provides a like-to-like replacement for him. I am sure that his left-arm bowling will add to the strength of our bowling," said Bangar.
In a boost for MI, head coach Mark Boucher has confirmed that skipper Rohit Sharma is 100% fit and ready to have a go at RCB.
"Yes, Rohit is fit. He has trained for the last two days and is 100 percent ready to go. I think he did not feel particularly well that morning and just as a precaution, we told him to stay at home," Boucher said at a pre-match press conference.
