Michael Bracewell will give RCB a good all-round option. (Twitter/@IPL)
Michael Bracewell didn’t find a buyer in the IPL mini auction in December last year
Royal Challengers Bangalore, who were dealt a huge blow by the ouster of their big-budget England batsman Will Jacks, signed a replacement in the form of New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell for the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Bengaluru-based franchise made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, adding that the 32-year-old Kiwi was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded T20I series against India and also registered an ODI century on the tour. Check out the tweet here:
Earlier, a report by ESPNCricinfo indicated that RCB had held talks with Bracewell as Jack’s replacement. Bracewell has scored 2,284 runs in 117 T20Is at a strike rate of 133.48, including one century and 13 fifties, and has taken 40 T20I wickets. However, he did not find any takers in the IPL mini-auction in December last year. He had entered the fray at a base price of Rs 1 crore.
Read this also- IPL 2023: Injured Will Jack out for entire season, RCB in talks with Michael Bracewell
Jack, on the other hand, was bought by RCB for Rs 3.2 crore and was considered ideal support for Glenn Maxwell, who made his return to competitive cricket after breaking his leg at a friend’s party earlier this year. Last year. Jack has 2,802 runs in 109 T20Is with one century and 23 fifties. His strike rate is also 157.94. He has 26 T20 wickets in his account.
Jack had injured his thigh while fielding in the second ODI of the series against Bangladesh earlier this month, ruling him out for the rest of the series. Due to Jack’s injury, he may be ruled out of not only the IPL but also the ICC World Cup to be played in India in October and November this year.
Read this also- BAN v ENG: England’s Will Jack ruled out of Bangladesh tour due to thigh injury
Faf du Plessis-led RCB will begin their IPL campaign this season against five-time champions Mumbai Indians on April 2 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This will be RCB’s first home match in four years.
RCB team: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Will Jacks (ruled out), Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav.
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