Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are gearing up for the sixteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 which is slated to commence from March 31. Despite emerging as one of the most consistent sides in past few years RCB are still devoid of IPL trophy. Faf Du Plessis-led side will open their campaign against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 2.
Meanwhile right ahead of the tournament RCB have a headache to deal with, which is star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell's leg injury which might cause a stir in their camp going forward in the tournament.
Maxwell suffered a horrible accident back in November 2022 that broke his leg at a birthday party in Melbourne. Maxwell had to undergo a surgery for a fracture of the left fibula which due to which he had to sit on the sidelines of international cricket for months. Maxwell made a comeback after quite a good time and featured in the first ODI of the just-concluded three-match series but missed out on the following two fixtures. Now he has his eyes set on the upcoming cash-rich league. Meanwhile, Maxwell has given an update on his lingering injury and said that he would still require months to be 100 per cent fit, but remains hopeful that the leg is fit enough for him to get through the tournament.
"The leg's okay. It's going to be a number of months before I'm 100 per cent. Hopefully it's (leg) good enough to get through the tournament and still do the job," Maxwell said in a video posted by RCB on social media.
With IPL 2023 set to return to the home-and-away format after two years of playing in bio-bubbles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maxwell said he was pumped up to play in front of the home fans.
"Finally getting back after a couple of years (of playing inside bio-bubbles). It's pretty exciting and I'm pretty pumped to play in front of our home fans," Maxwell added.
Maxwell had a decent outing with the willow for RCB in IPL 2022 when he amassed a total of 301 runs in 13 matches and also snared six wickets to help his franchise finish third to qualify for the playoffs for three seasons on the trot.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Final Squad:
Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Faf Du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahemad, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Michael Bracewell.
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