IPL 2023: RCB's Star All-Rounder To Miss Initial Part Of The Cash Rich League

RCB will be playing against Mumbai Indians in their opening clash on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli and Sanjay Bangar.

Source : Twitter/@RCBTweets

Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a huge blow ahead of their opening game against Mumbai Indians as their star allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga will not be taking part in the IPL 2023 till April 9. He is busy with his national commitments. RCB will be playing against Mumbai Indians in their opening clash on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Coach Bangar confirmed the same in the pre-match press conference.

"Wanindu Hasaranga will be unavailable for us till the ninth of this month," said Bangar in the pre-match press conference. The Sri Lankan spinner was the highest wicket-taker for RCB in the last IPL and overall was the second-highest wicket-taker with a total of 26 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 16.53.

RCB v MI, Game Day Preview: Captain Faf, Coach Bangar and Harshal Patel tell us how Game Ready we are, heading into our first big home game of the #IPL2023. Watch to find out what they had to say about our preparations.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 #RCBvMI pic.twitter.com/Ht127DdKAC

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 2, 2023

The English speedster Reece Topley will likely to replace Josh Hazlewood who will also miss out on the first half of the IPL 2023 due to an Achilles injury.

"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.

"Boys are excited. The build-up was very nice. We had this RCB Unbox event and also the Hall of Fame event that the team management did. The response to these events was nice and it gave goosebumps to the new boys who have not experienced the atmosphere at the Chinnaswammy Stadium. Hope fans will continue providing the energy like they do always."