Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has replaced England's Will Jacks who got ruled out due to a muscle injury he sustained in the recent Bangladesh tour. RCB had secured Jacks' services for INR 3.2 crore in the auction and have now signed Bracewell for his base price of INR 1 crore. Bracewell had gone unsold in the auction but grabbed eyeballs with a sensational ton in Hyderabad during the ODI series in India.
Bracewell smashed 188 runs in the three-match ODI series at a brilliant strike-rate of 144.62 and ended as the second highest run-getter only below Shubman Gill. He is a handy all-rounder who has been shining for New Zealand across all formats. Though he doesn't boast of a great record in T20Is, the 32-year-old has time and again proved his worth as an all-rounder. He has so far played 117 T20 matches in his career scoring 2284 runs at a brilliant strike-rate of 133.48 with 1 century and 13 fifties to his name. Bracewell has also picked 40 wickets, 21 of which have come in T20 Internationals.
The all-rounder is currently featuring for New Zealand in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at home and was also picked for the upcoming ODI series against the island nation. With New Zealand Cricket (NZC) agreeing to release the IPL-bound players, Bracewell will also give the SL ODIs a miss now and will soon join the RCB squad ahead of IPL 2023. Rachin Ravindra has been named his replacement in the ODI squad. Notably, NZC recently announced the squad without the players like Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner who are expected to fly to India for the IPL.
As for RCB, they will be playing their first match of the season against the five-time Mumbai Indians on April 2 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. With Bracewell joining the squad, the unit is looking even more stronger and the franchise will be hoping that they go all the way this time around in the league.
