The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just around the corner and excitement among fans is growing with each passing day. During the IPL, which starts on March 31, fans will able to witness their favourite stars play for their respective franchise. Speaking of star, former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli will represent the Bengaluru-based franchise for the 16th straight season, having joined them as an 19-year-old in 2008. On Sunday, Kohli arrived at the Chinnaswamy Stadium for the RCB unbox event.
After spotting the star batter, fans welcomed him with 'Kohli, Kohli' chants.
RCB unbox event will be a great opportunity for the fans to see their favourite stars like Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar etc in the team's first practice session. Along with this, the official jersey for the upcoming edition of the IPL will also be unveiled. As former RCB teammates, Ab de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli reunite yet again. Their reunion will be more than special as Kohli's former teammates will be inducted into the RCB Hall of fame.
De Villiers 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. While, Gayle represented RCB from 2011-17 in 91 matches, scoring 3,420 runs at a strike rate of over 154 and five centuries and 21 half-centuries. His best score is 175*.
RCB will start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with a match against Mumbai Indians (MI) at their home arena, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Last year, RCB qualified for playoffs and finished fourth in the competition after losing to Rajasthan Royals in qualifier 2 by seven wickets.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad strength: 25 players (overseas 8)
Players bought during IPL 2023 auction - Reece Topley (INR 1.9 crore), Himanshu Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Will Jacks (INR 3.2 crore), Manoj Bhandage (INR 20 lakh), Rajan Kumar (INR 70 lakh), Avinash Singh (INR 60 lakh).
Players retained - Faf du Plessis (c), 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.
(With ANI Inputs)