IPL 2023: Michael Bracewell replaces injured Will Jacks in RCB squad
English sensation Will Jacks will miss the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a muscle injury. The Surrey-born cricketer was bought for INR 3.2 crore in the auction to provide cover for Glenn Maxwell, who broke his leg right after the last edition of the Big Bash League.
Now, with Jacks ruled out, Royal Challengers Bangalore have announced Michael Bracewell as his replacement. The franchise was in talks with the New Zealand international for quite some time now and as things stand, Bracewell signed his contract for INR 1 crore (base price) and will soon join the squad in order to start his preparations for the cash-rich league.
Notably, the 32-year-old has never played in the IPL and went unsold in the last mini-auction. Overall, he has played 117 matches in the shortest format of the game, scoring 2284 runs at a strike rate of 133.48.
Preparations have already begun as Royal Challengers Bangalore are set to play their first game in Chinnaswamy Stadium in almost four years. In their very first match of the season, the Faf du Plessis-led side will take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians on April 2.
Coming to their squad, the franchise has signed seven new players ahead of the new season. Out of which, England pacer Recee Topley is currently injured but is expected that he will recover soon and join the squad in Bangalore. On the other hand, the future of Josh Hazlewood is also under the scanner. The Australia pacer is currently dealing with an injury and wasn’t available for the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
He is currently in Australia and a call upon his fitness will soon be made as there are doubts that the pacer might miss the tournament to keep himself fit for the all-important World Test Championship (WTC) final and the upcoming Ashes.
Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell has recovered on time and will be available for the full tournament. He will join the squad right after the India series along with Virat Kohli and Mohammad Siraj.
