Both the teams are keen to start their IPL7 campaign on a winning note
RCB's Yuvraj Singh (left), skipper Virat Kohli (centre) and opening batsman Chris Gayle during a practice session (Photo : DC)
Sharjah: A new look Delhi Daredevils will launch their Indian Premier League campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah on Thursday without the services of their star batsman and captain Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen has been ruled out because of injury. It will be a big setback for Delhi as Pietersen will be forced to sit out of the lung-opener because of a finger injury which is yet to heal completely. He is also a doubtful starter for the second game as well.
In Pietersen’s absence, Dinesh Karthik may lead the DD against RCB who have a star studded line up and will be keen to start their campaign on a high. RCB had won both their matches against DD in 2013. With the hard working wicketkeeper batsman Karthik and South Africa’s Jean Paul Duminy as value additions in the new squad, Delhi are looking prepared and raring to go.
RCB, who had retained big boys Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers for the seventh edition, broke bank for Yuvraj Singh after shelling out a whopping 14 crores in the February auctions.
The team’s best finish was the runnersup trophy in 2011 but did not go beyond the qualifying stages in the 2013 season.
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Albie Morkel, Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Rampaul, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Vijay, Sachin Rana, Yogesh Takawale, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shadab Jakati, Sandeep Warrier, Harshal Patel, Tanmay Mishra.
Delhi Daredevils: Dinesh Karthik, JP Duminy, Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary, Quinton de Kock, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ross Taylor, Milind Kumar, Wayne Parnell, HS Sharath, Jayant Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, James Neesham, Kedar Jadhav, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Shukla, Siddharth Kaul, Kevin Pietersen (unfit for this game.)
( Source : PTI )
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