AB de Villiers. Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS for BCCI
Royal Challengers Bangalore will get benefited hugely by the return of AB de Villiers for their all-important clash against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
Bangalore need to win at least five of their last six matches to harbour hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Ab de Villiers missed Bangalore’s previous two games owing to viral fever.
However, the star batsman has recovered in time for the massive clash. Bangalore will surely gain a lot from this inclusion. Before his fever, he had played a couple of impressive innings.
De Villiers has been Bangalore’s 2nd highest run-scorer in this tournament so far. He has smashed 280 runs at a staggering average of 56. De Villiers smashed 68 off just 30 deliveries against Chennai in the previous clash.
In all likelihood, MR 360 will be replacing his South African teammate Quinton de Kock. The wicket-keeper batsman has flown back to South Africa to attend a wedding ceremony.
“AB is back fit, Quinton is away from this game. Quinton has returned home for a wedding, so he is unavailable for this match so probably it’s an easy decision for us to make,” head coach Daniel Vettori said on Friday ahead of Bangalore’s clash against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
Vettori confirmed the fact De Kock will be joining the squad ahead of RCB’S next clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
De Villiers has been one of the modern greats
De Villiers has arguably been one of the greatest batsmen of his generation. He has been with Bangalore franchiser since the 2011 edition of the tournament and has gelled along with skipper Virat Kohli terrifically.
He has been a revolution, especially in limited overs cricket. De Villiers has been an asset for Bangalore over the years, despite Bangalore failing to win a single IPL so far.
Even in this tournament, they haven’t started off well and needs to make a quick turnaround to even think of their maiden IPL win.
AB de Villiers plays a shot. Photo by: Deepak Malik / IPL/ SPORTZPICS