RCB names a hard-hitting all-rounder to replace Will Jacks for IPL 2023

The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin on March 31 when the defending champion Gujarat Titans lock horns against the four-time champion Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat.

These two teams will kick off another blockbuster season in the league. The preparation for the IPL 2023 is in full swing, and all ten franchises are gearing up for the next edition. However, ahead of the start, a few franchises suffered some blows with injuries to their key players.

Royal Challengers Bangalore was also one such team that suffered an injury to star English player Will Jacks, who has been in great form of late. The 24-year-old suffered an injury to his muscle during England's recent tour to Bangladesh. As a result, he was ruled out of the upcoming IPL edition.

RCB invested INR 3.2 crore in him at the auction. However, as his replacement, the franchise has now signed the Kiwi all-rounder Michael Bracewell, who went unsold at the 2023 auction at his base price of INR 1 crore. But his breath-taking innings in Hyderabad in an ODI, when Shubman Gill smashed a double century, caught the attention of the world.

As a result, the RCB were keen to pounce on him. In the three-match ODI series against India, he scored 188 runs at a blistering strike rate of 144.62 and was the second-highest run-getter in the series. He is a regular member of the Kiwi team in all three formats and plays an important role as an all-rounder.

In his T20 career so far, he has played 117 games and scored 2284 runs at a strike rate of 133.48, including one century and 13 half-centuries. He has also picked up 40 wickets in these games. He is currently part of the ongoing two-match test series against Sri Lanka at home.

The New Zealand Cricket Board has agreed to release all the IPL-bound players, and those players will not take part in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. Thus, Bracewell will join the RCB camp soon.