Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 2 : Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have annoucned the Indian all-rounder Kedar Jadhav as the replacement player in place of Englishman David Willey, who has flown back home to nurse an injury.
Jadhav, 38, will join RCB for his third IPL season with the franchise, having last featured for the team back in 2017. Notably, the Maharashtra-based all-rounder was drafted into RCB through a trade agreement with the Delhi franchise, then known as the Delhi Daredevils, prior to IPL 2016.
In an IPL career that has spanned 93 matches, Jadhav has scored 1,196 runs at a strike rate of 123.17 and is also a handy off-spinner, although he has never bowled before in the cash-rich league. Interestingly, Jadhav can also take up wicket-keeping duties, having donned the gloves in the past for RCB as well.
Jadhav, who was in roaring form in the recent Ranji Trophy with an average of 92.50, comes into the team with a wealth of experience under his belt and could fit in well into RCB's middle order, with the batting unit barring the trio of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell finding it hard to score runs consistently.
Speaking on joining RCB for the season, Kedar shed light on missing a year's worth of cricket and his hunger to do well.
"I took a break for a year but I realised I was missing my passion. When I came back to play First-Class cricket, I found it very easy," he said.
"All the experience helped. The hunger was there which was in the early 20s. The hunger to score big runs was there and I felt I can come back and play at all levels and I've prepared for it, I've always performed well," RCB quoted him as saying.
While it was a call from RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar that will see Jadhav swap his role as a commentator to put on the Red and Gold threads, the all-rounder's experience in the IPL and his years of playing for the Indian cricket team makes him a good addition to the side.
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