Royal Challengers Bangalore allrounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the second half of the IPL 2021 due to a finger injury. Bengal medium pacer Akash Deep, who is also a net bowler with the franchise, has been named as his replacement.
Washington picked up three wickets in six matches at an average of32.11 in the first half of IPL 2021. The offspinner has accumulated 19 wickets in 32 matches for the Virat Kohli-led team since joining the franchise in 2018.
Deep was the second-highest wicket-taker for Bengal with seven scalps from five matches at an average of 19.28 in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The 24-year old has taken 21 wickets at an average of 16.85 in 15 T20s. Deep has also been a regular for the state side across formats in the last two domestic seasons.
"The move reiterates the focus RCB has on grooming and nurturing young players as the team continues to develop exceptional talents and create a pathway for young talents to find their way into IPL and Indian Cricket," the Royal Challengers' management said in a statement.
This is the franchise's fifth replacement of the season. Earlier, they named Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga as Australian legspinner Adam Zampa's replacement and brought in Australia's Singapore-born Tim David as a replacement for New Zealander Finn Allen, while Australia quicks Daniel Sams and Kane Richardson were replaced by Dushmantha Chameera and George Garton.
That apart, they also saw a change in the backroom personnel ahead of the season with Mike Hesson, the team's director of cricket operations, taking over the position of head coach from Simon Katich, who stepped down due to personal reasons.