RCB sign Finn Allen as Josh Philippe replacement

Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed wicketkeeper-batsman Finn Allen as a replacement for Josh Philippe for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Earlier, the Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Philippe, who made his debut for RCB in IPL 2020 in the UAE, has pulled out of the IPL for personal reasons, prompting RCB to sign uncapped New Zealander.

“Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed up New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Finn Allen as replacement for Josh Philippe who will be unavailable for the entire season,” an official statement from IPL read. Finn, set to debut in IPL 2021 player list, had a base price of Rs 20 Lakhs equivalent to that of Josh Philippe. RCB play Mumbai Indians in the IPL’s opener on April 9.

Our latest cricket news: BCCI chief hints absence of fans for the entire IPL2021

Finn was passed over in the IPL auction but the exciting 21-year-old gets his chance after amassing a table-topping 512 runs to power Wellington Firebirds to the title in New Zealand’s domestic ‘Super Smash’ T20 competition. “Finn has been talked about a lot and why wouldn’t he because he’s had a fantastic season with Wellington,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larden told reporters.

RCB Full Squad for IPL 2021: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Finn Allen (wk), AB de Villiers (wk), Pavan Deshpande, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Christian, Suyash Prabhudessai, K.S. Bharat.

The cash-rich tournament set to commence on April 9 behind closed doors. The T20 tournament will be played at six venues but there will be “no home games” for any of the eight franchises. It will be first played in Chennai, with Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will host the playoffs as well as the May 30 final,

Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata will be the other venues, while the newly-renovated Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final match on 30th May, 2021. All teams will play at four out of six venues during the league stage. The IPL governing council said that the tournament will begin with closed doors matches and a decision to allow spectators will be taken at a later stage.

Exciting games and big wins as you visit 12BET where exclusive promotions await for you.

Visit 12BET login and join us to claim exclusive benefits and more