IPL 2023: Will Jacks Ruled Out of the Competition, RCB to Find Replacement

The RCB franchise going into the IPL 2023 auctions had decided to hold onto their previous year’s core team. The team purchased a handful of players including the likes of Reece Topley and Will Jacks to name a few. But unfortunately, RCB will have to start looking for a replacement as Will Jacks has been ruled out of the IPL 2023. The Bangalore-based franchise will begin its competition on April 2 facing Mumbai Indians.

Will Jacks injured himself while fielding during the first Eng vs Ban second ODI. The injury is a serious setback because he had intended to utilize the competition to gain experience playing in Indian conditions. The experience could have strengthened his case for a spot in England’s team for the 50-over World Cup later this year. RCB will now have to go ahead in the competition without the player.

Michael Bracewell to replace Will Jacks

As per ESPNCricinfo, “RCB have been in discussions with Michael Bracewell. The New Zealand allrounder, as a potential replacement for Jacks. Bracewell has never previously played in the IPL and was unsold at December’s auction, having entered with a base price of INR 1 crore. Royal Challengers play their first game of the season against Mumbai Indians on April 2. It will be their first fixture at their home ground, Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, since May 2019.”

In addition to losing Will Jacks, RCB will also worry about the availability of Reece Topley. The England pacer was benched throughout the white-ball series in Bangladesh. He is likely to get fit and join the team. Glenn Maxwell who has been a key player for RCB in the last 2 seasons is also recovering from a freak injury. He will travel to India to participate in the ODI series which will provide him with some practice before the IPL. Moreover, RCB isn’t the only team suffering from players getting injured. Moreover, MI has lost a couple of players, and CSK as well. The newest addition to this Shreyas Iyer is likely to miss the first half of the IPL.

RCB squad:

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav