David Willey has been replaced by Kedar Jadhav for the balance of the IPL 2023 by Royal Challengers Bangalore due to injury. Jadhav was purchased for INR 1 crore (about USD 122,300).
In RCB’s home loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, Willey was struck on the toe while batting. Since then, he has taken a flight back to the UK. On their social media pages, RCB announced that Willey had also sustained an adductor strain in addition to having a fractured toe.
Jadhav, who is now 38, was a highly sought-after IPL cricketer till a few years ago, but he was unable to participate in the 2022 campaign and was not offered at the most recent auction.
Since his IPL debut in 2010, RCB, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and Sunrisers Hyderabad are just a few of the teams he has played for.
After being traded from Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils), Jadhav participated in 17 games for RCB in 2016 and 2017.
“I took a break for a year but I realized I was missing my passion. When I came back to play first-class cricket, I found it very easy,”
Jadhav said of a successful 2022-23 domestic season, where he scored 555 runs in six innings at an average of 92.50 for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy.
“All the experience helped. The hunger was there which was in the early 20s. The hunger to score big runs was there and I felt I can come back and play at all levels and I’ve prepared for it, I’ve always performed well.”
Jadhav most recently worked with the IPL commentary crew for the Marathi language.
Kedar Jadhav has participated in 93 IPL games, scoring 1196 runs overall with a strike rate of 123.17. Jadhav, an occasional off spinner with a low, slinging motion who has taken 27 ODI wickets from 73 appearances for India in the format and four in T20s, has never bowled in the IPL. He occasionally serves as a wicketkeeper and did so for RCB during his two years with the team.
With four wins and four losses, RCB is currently ranked sixth among the ten teams in the IPL. They take on Lucknow SuperGiants in their ninth match on Monday night.
Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, and Reece Topley have all been previously excluded from the IPL 2023 due to injuries they have sustained this year.
Josh Hazlewood was unable to play in the team’s first eight games of the season, but he is anticipated to make a comeback on Monday against LSG.