IPL 2022 | Faf Du Plessis will strengthen the batting department and will be also helpful with leadership skills, says RCB coach
Faf Du Plessis will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore from the upcoming season
|Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Sanjay Bangar has said that Faf Du Plessis will strengthen the batting department of the team and will help the team with his leadership skills. RCB bought Faf Du Plessis for Rs 7 Crore on day 1 of the mega auction for upcoming season held in Bangalore.
The two days of mega auction for the IPL 2022 concluded in Bangalore on Sunday. Teams formed their squads through the auction with an aim of winning the title this season. Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t been able to live up to the expectations from the last couple of seasons but they will look to win the title this time around.
The team bought Faf Du Plessis in the mega auction for Rs 7 Crore. Reflecting on the addition of Du Plessis in the squad, team’s head coach Sanjay Bangar has said that he will strengthen the batting unit of the team and will also help with his leadership skills.
“The addition of Faf du Plessis adds real strength to the batting department. He is a proven performer, a seasoned campaigner and has delivered at the highest levels,” Bangar said in a release from the franchise, a day after the auction.
“We were looking at someone who can solidify our top order and his inclusion into the team solves just that, with diverse experience of playing across formats gives us options, not only in terms of opening the batting line but also with leadership skills.”
RCB has also acquired the services of Indian pacer Harshal Patel ( Rs 10.75 Cr) and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga ( Rs 10.75 Cr). They have also added pacer Josh Hazlewood (Rs 7.75 Cr) and Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik ( Rs 5.50 Cr). Bangar said that he is satisfied with the franchise selected in the auction.
“We are quite satisfied with our haul at the auctions to form a balanced team. Our plan was to bring stability and at the same time, have variations owing to the changing situations in a T20 tournament,” Bangar said.
“We aimed to have a solid role for each player that we pick along with some back-ups in the same form. We have achieved a well-rounded pool of talents from international and domestic cricket. Josh Hazlewood brings a great arch to the bowling department. He has been in the circuit for quite some time, showing us every time what he does the best and brings a wealth of experience in the T20 format.”
Wanindu Hasaranga has been an emerging name in the franchise and international cricket recently. The leg-spinner is effective with the ball and has batting skills as well. Harshal Patel was the highest wicket-taker in the last season and has been also doing well in the domestic circuit. Bangar opined that Hasaranga will add value to the team with his all-round skills.
“Wanindu Hasaranga is a wrist spinning all-rounder who can bat at 7, and we were looking closely at picking a quality leggie in the spin department. The fact that he can contribute with the bat as well is a great value add. We required a good No. 6 and a finisher, who we have found in Dinesh Karthik,” he stated.
“Harshal Patel did exceptionally well in the last season and was a natural choice for us to go that mile on the bid. We are very happy to have him and some of our players return to the RCB family and we couldn’t be happy to reinvest in players who we have seen develop over the years.” RCB had retained three players — Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj.”
