BENGALURU: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday said that former legendary South African batter AB de Villiers will be “back in Bengaluru soon”. It is not clear yet if de Villiers will join the franchise again under some capacity.
“Abraham Benjamin de Villiers Forever! #OnThisDay last year, the man who brought joy to millions of cricket fans, our favourite superhero, @ABdeVilliers17, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. But… he’ll be back in Bengaluru soon! #PlayBold #ABForever,” tweeted RCB.
Notably, de Villiers was in Bengaluru recently. His appearance raised speculation about his return to RCB in some capacity. “I am here to chat with RCB guys for next year’s IPL”, de Villiers had said in a video posted by the franchise on November 3.
AB de Villiers is also an RCB Hall of Famer. He represented the side from 2011-2021 in 157 matches. He scored 4,522 runs at an average of 41.10. He scored two centuries and 37 fifties for the side at a strike rate of over 158.
Notably, Royal Challengers Bangalore have retained most of their big names for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, with West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford being the only big name the franchise released. The core team consisting of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood has been retained.
After qualifying for playoffs three consecutive times, RCB has chosen to count on its core players to win them their maiden trophy, who could also get support from youngsters like Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai and Finn Allen. The side still has Rs 8.75 crore left in their purse and two overseas slots to fill as well. The side made it to playoffs during the last season.
Players released: Jason Behrendorff, Aneeshwar Gautam, Chama Milind, Luvnith Sisodia, Sherfane Rutherford
Current squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep. (ANI)