Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is set to retire the jersey numbers donned by two legendary cricketers, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers when the two batting juggernauts will be inducted in Indian Premier League (IPL) side's Hall of Fame on March 26. RCB will be retiring AB De Villiers' jersey no.17 and Gayle's jersey no. 333 at the Hall of Fame ceremony which will take place at the RCB Unbox event. The Bangalore-based franchise will also release the team's new jersey on March 26.
"Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle, when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame," RCB tweeted. Jersey No. 17 had become synonymous with de Villiers, who played 11 seasons (2011-2021) for RCB and scored 4,491 runs in 156 matches for the franchise.
The holder of jersey no.17 De Villiers in a long association with RCB featured in 11 seasons ((2011-2021) and scored 4491 runs in a total of 156 matches riding on 37 fifties with a highest individual score of 133. Meanwhile, the holder of jersey no. 333 West Indian batting great Gayle featured for RCB in seven seasons (2011-2017) in which he scored 708 runs in 16 matches in which his highest score remained 175.
RCB will open their IPL 2023 campaign against Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians on April 2.
RCB schedule in IPL 2023: Full fixtures list & match timings
02-Apr-23 – 19.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians – Bengaluru
06-Apr-23 – 19.30 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Kolkata
10-Apr-23 – 19.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Lucknow Super Giants – Bengaluru
15-Apr-23 – 15.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Capitals – Bengaluru
17-Apr-23 – 19.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings – Bengaluru
20-Apr-23 – 15.30 – Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Mohali
23-Apr-23 – 15.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals – Bengaluru
26-Apr-23 – 19.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders – Bengaluru
01-May-23 – 19.30 – Lucknow Super Giants v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Lucknow
06-May-23 – 19.30 – Delhi Capitals v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Delhi
09-May-23 – 19.30 – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Mumbai
14-May-23 – 15.30 – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Jaipur
18-May-23 – 19.30 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore – Hyderabad
21-May-23 – 19.30 – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Gujarat Titans – Bengaluru
RCB full squad for IPL 2023
Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Will Jacks, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav.
