Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a major blow despite a convincing eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign opener. Their English recruit Reece Topley dislocated his shoulder on his IPL debut at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on April 2. RCB head coach Mike Hesson is unsure whether Topley will be fit for RCB's next fixture and is waiting for the results of scans.
“Unfortunately his knee dug into the ground and he landed on his shoulder and dislocated it. It was lucky enough (for us) that the doctors were able to pop it back in,” Hesson told RCB’s YouTube channel after the team’s convincing win.
“He is off to have a scan at the moment. We hope that the initial reports come back nicely and Reece can join us. (But) if not then we will have to see what happens, but hopefully he is alright.”
The incident took place in the eighth over of RCB's innings. Topley ran across and put in a dive to stop the ball. The left-arm pacer landed awkwardly on his right shoulder while sliding. He was wincing in pain and the RCB physio rushed to his aid. He was helped off the field and did not take further part in the game.
Earlier, he dismissed MI's Rs 17.5 crore recruit Cameron Green. Topley's full delivery crashed into Green's stumps. He conceded 14 runs from his two overs.
Two RCB players are already sidelined due to injuries. Rajat Patidar who is nursing a heel injury will remain unavailable for the first half of IPL 2023. Also, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is expected to miss the first seven matches.
As RCB dominated the proceedings against MI and registered their fourth consecutive victory over five-time IPL winners since IPL 2021, Hesson said, “It does not get any better than that. The intensity with which we bowled and in the field was exceptional.
"We took early wickets in the powerplay which we wanted to do from last year, but we held it together with the ball and our batting was exceptional,” he added.
ALSO READ:
'We have seen the Virat that we saw in 2016': RCB legend makes a big claim on Kohli, predicts trouble for bowlers
'Sanju, unbelievable batting': Kumar Sangakkara lauds Rajasthan Royals captain and stylish batter; watch video here
