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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed New Zealand spin-bowling all-rounder Michael Bracewell as a replacement for injured Will Jacks for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Earlier, England’s batter Jacks was ruled out of the IPL 2023 due to a muscle injury he sustained during the ODI series in Bangladesh.
24-year-old Jacks was bought by RCB in the last auction for a price of INR 3.2 crore. However, “Bracewell will join RCB at his base price of INR 1 crore,” the BCCI said in an official statement.
Meanwhile, left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has been named Bracewell’s replacement in the New Zealand squad for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting from March 25 in Auckland after the ongoing Test series.
🔊 ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊
Michael Bracewell of New Zealand will replace Will Jacks for #IPL2023.
The 32-year-old all-rounder was the top wicket taker for Kiwis during the T20I series in India, and scored a fighting 140 in an ODI game. 🙌#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/qO0fhP5LeY
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 18, 2023
New Zealand head coach, Gary Stead, said in a statement, “Michael’s been a key contributor to our white-ball teams since making his debut last year. It’s exciting he’ll get a chance to take up the learning opportunities the IPL provides, particularly as a spin-bowling all-rounder. With a World Cup in India this year it’s great to have players getting more experience in those conditions.”
32-year-old Bracewell has played 7 Tests, 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is for New Zealand so far. In his 16 T20Is, he has taken 21 wickets, averaging 10.42 at an economy of 5.36. With the bat, Bracewell has scored 113 runs from eleven innings, averaging 18.83 at a strike rate of 139.50.
Bracewell has played a total of 117 T20 matches, scoring 2284 runs at a strike rate of 133.48 with 13 fifties and 1 hundred. With the ball, he has taken 40 wickets at an economy of 6.52 with a best bowling figure of 4/28.
He has become the eighth overseas player to join the RCB squad along with skipper Faf du Plessis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Reece Topley, David Willey and fellow countrymen Finn Allen.
Earlier, Jacks sustained a muscle injury while fielding in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka, which England won. He was ruled out of the IPL after taking scans and consulting with a specialist earlier this week. Interestingly, both Jacks and Bracewell have never played in the IPL.
The injury has come as a big loss for Jacks, as he was hoping to use the IPL to get acclimatized to the Indian conditions and improve his chances of making his place in England’s squad for the ODI World Cup to be played later this year in India.
The IPL kicks off on March 31 in Ahmedabad, while RCB will begin their season with a home game against Mumbai Indians on April 2 in Bengaluru. This will be RCB’s first match at their home ground M Chinnaswamy Stadium since May 2019.
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