IPL 2022: Uncapped Afghanistan Spinner Izharulhaq Naveed Joins RCB As A Net Bowler

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has brought in uncapped Afghanistan spinner, Izharulhaq Naveed, as a net bowler ahead of the IPL 2022 season which begins on March 26, Saturday.

The 18-year-old confirmed the news via a post on his Instagram account. The kid caught the eye of the IPL franchise after his performance in the U-19 ODI World Cup where he picked up 4 wickets in 6 matches with a stellar economy of 3.63.

Naveed continues the list of talented spinners produced by Afghanistan, after the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman. Both of them have performed brilliantly for their franchise. Rashid was also retained by Gujarat Titans (GT) ahead of the season.

“It’s quite unbelievable IPL has come this far” – Virat Kohli

Meanwhile, RCB batter Virat Kohli was quite enthusiastic ahead of the season, happy to be part of the league which has grown leaps and bounds since its inception in 2008. The upcoming edition will be the 15th and Kohli hopes to continue playing as long as he enjoys doing so.

“Wow, 15 [IPL season]! It’s quite unbelievable IPL has come this far and yeah [I am here with] renewed energy because I am off a lot of responsibilities and duties and life is in a very good place.”

“We have a child now, we have a family and for me, it’s all about going on about life with a lot of joy and happiness and watching our child grow and doing what I love, which is playing cricket,” Kohli said in a video posted by RCB.

The RCB squad will have a new captain after Kohli gave up the position last season. They will now be led by Faf du Plessis, who was bought in the IPL 2022 mega auction for INR 7 crores.

RCB squad for IPL 2022 season:

Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis (c), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Luvnith Sisodia, Siddharth Kaul.

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