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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will start its campaign for the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the home venue of M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after a long wait of over 3 years. RCB former captain Virat Kohli is all excited to be back after the COVID-19 pandemic and said that fans wanted to see them play at the stadium.
Royal Challengers played their last match at Chinnaswamy Stadium on 3rd May 2019 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) which they won. RCB squad, ahead of their first match against Mumbai Indians (MI) gave a special message to the fans. Bangalore's batter Virat Kohli featured in the latest episode of RCB Bold Diaries, he said as quoted by RCB's official website "It is one of the few things in recent years that I am really excited about because I know how much the fans want to see us back in the stadium and the Chinnaswamy will be lit up again." Whereas, RCK skipper Faf du Plessis said "I am so excited to get going. It's the fans, they are so loud and you just want to be out there. That's why they say that playing here at Chinnaswamy is an emotion." All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed expressed his joy to be a part of RCB Squad, he added, "It cannot be any better than this. I am very excited about our match with the Mumbai Indians on 2nd April. I think that it's all going to be a different atmosphere and I am very excited about the same." Dinesh Karthik said, "We all know the kind of RCB gets from the crowd that comes to Chinnaswamy. Arguably probably the best in India. Every player is looking forward to that." RCB in the last edition of IPL had succeeded to make a place in the playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the 2nd qualifier by Rajasthan Royals. In the auction of the Indian Premier League 2022, RCB had retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj. While Faf Du Plessis was added to the team at Rs. 7 crores and was given the job to lead the side. Royal Challengers Bangalore: Squad strength: 25 players (overseas 8) Players bought during IPL 2023 auction - Reece Topley (Rs 1.9 crore), Himanshu Sharma (Rs 20 lakh), Will Jacks (Rs 3.2 crore), Manoj Bhandage (Rs 20 lakh), Rajan Kumar (Rs 70 lakh), Avinash Singh (Rs 60 lakh). Players retained - Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep. (ANI)
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