Royal Challengers will take on defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening match of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Hampered by injuries to some of their biggest stars, RCB will have their task cut out when they take on the title holders. Captain Virat Kohli and star batsman AB de Villiers will be unavailable for the match due to injuries. While Kohli is ruled out because of a shoulder injury, de Villiers is nursing a back problem.
They have also lost star batsman KL Rahul for the whole tournament owing to injury. In addition, RCB’s young batsman Sarfaraz Khan will most likely be unavailable for the entire season after hurting himself on the field during a practice match in Bengaluru.
Sarfaraz Khan was was expected to partner Chris Gayle in the absence of Kohli. As Kohli is likely to miss the first few matches in the tournament, the team has named Shane Watson as its captain in the interim. RCB can still bank on Gayle and Watson who are both capable of destroying any opposition on their day. Kedar Jadhav, a rising Indian star, can rise to the occasion and fill the gap caused by Rahul’s absence.
Australian Twenty20 star Travis Head, Indian players Sachin Baby and Mandeep Singh, who have previous experience of playing in the IPL, are also valuable assets in the batting order.
RCB boasts of some deadly bowlers in English paceman Tymal Mills, an expensive buy at the IPL 2017 auction, and Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal’s six-wicket haul had helped India clinch last year’s series against England. West Indies’ Twenty20 specialist leg-spinner Samuel Badree, Kiwi pacer Adam Milne and left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary add to the bowling strength of the Bangalore outfit.
Indian players like Sreenath Aravind, Stuart Binny and all-rounder Pawan Negi are also expected to help the team’s cause. Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, are determined to repeat last year’s magic to grab the title. Hyderabad has one of the most formidable batsmen in IPL in its skipper David Warner, who led from the front last season.
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