The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has made the announcement on Monday that they have roped in the Australian leg-spinner, Adam Zampa as a replacement of the fast bowler, Kane Richardson in the team’s squad for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. The franchise announced on Twitter that Richardson and his wife are expecting the birth of their first child and as a result, he has pulled out of the tournament.
The IPL 2020 is scheduled to commence on September 19 and the final will be played on November 10 in the UAE across three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
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In an official statement regarding the replacement, RCB’s Direct of Cricket, Mike Hesson said, “We are disappointed to not have Kane’s skills with us this IPL, as he was certainly on top of his game. However once we found out Kane and Nyki’s baby was due during the IPL, it’s an exciting time, and we were fully supportive of Kane wanting to be at the birth of their first child.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Adam Zampa in RCB colours. He replaces Kane Richardson. Let’s #PlayBold Adam Zampa. 🤜🤛#PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/63rnT8SvSV
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) August 31, 2020
Hesson further added, “When looking at our squad for UAE conditions we felt it was an opportunity to bring in another quality leg spinner in Adam Zampa to provide cover for Chahal and also give us extra options if conditions suit spin as expected during the tournament.”
Zampa’s inclusion can be expected to have strengthened RCB’s spin attack which already comprises of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar. Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, and the uncapped Shahbaz Ahmed are the other spin options in the Bangalore-based franchise.
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This will be Zampa’s second IPL franchise as he had previously played the tournament for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants. For that particular franchise, he had managed to take 19 wickets from 11 matches at an economy rate of 7.54.
