5 players who could replace AB de Villiers in RCB's playing XI against Gujarat Lions

As if the ignominy of languishing at the bottom of the table wasn’t enough, the Royal Challengers Bangalore got a major jolt when AB de Villiers was ruled out of their fixture against the Gujarat Lions at Rajkot. The announcement came just five hours before the start of the game, although the nature and extent of the injury still seem unknown. 

While AB de Villiers missed the first two games of the season due to a back injury, he played in the next three fixtures, sealing one of the four available overseas slots. Here are five players who could make a re-entry intot the RCB team and replace de Villiers in the playing XI:

 

#5  Vishnu Vinod

The aggressive top order batsman from Kerala has been one of the top performers for his state in the T20 format, credentials that earned him a place in the RCB squad as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul. The 23-year old got a chance to play for the Bangalore franchise for the second and third matches of the season, just after he had scored 93 for Kerala against Himachal Pradesh in a List A game.

However, the move didn’t go as expected, for the keeper-batsman struggled during his stays in the middle, scoring 7 and 9 in two games. Having got a small break, he will now be itching to make a mark for himself and obliterate the poor IPL record that he currently has.