IPL 2017: AB de Villiers Set To Arrive Late In India Due To Momentum One Day Cup Final
Dec 22, 2018 at 5:17 PM
Royal Challengers Bangalore star AB de Villiers has delayed his departure to the Indian Premier League (IPL) by a few days to play in the Momentum One Day Cup final in Centurion on Friday (March 31). Delhi Daredevils all-rounder Chris Morris will also be leaving late for India due to his commitment to his domestic team. Both the players will be playing for the Titans against the Warriors in the showdown clash.
The news was confirmed by Titans coach Mark Boucher on Tuesday night during the franchise’s end of season awards.
“AB (De Villiers) and Chris (Morris) are available for selection in the final‚ Heinrich (Klaasen) is also available but he will not be considered because I don’t want to leave someone out who was part of our run to the final in his absence.”
Boucher further said that he is hoping De Villiers to play a big part in the title-decider. The South Africa star was dismissed for a two-ball duck in his last match against the Cobras the past week, and Boucher said this may prove to be a blessing in disguise.
“It’s possibly a blessing in disguise for us that he did not score any runs in our last match because we did not need him and we managed to win without him. He must be feeling that I did not contribute to the team and he would want to contribute in the final which is good news for us,” said Boucher.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be opening their campaign on April 5 against the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. De Villiers had endured an injury-ridden 2016 and with the IPL being such a tiring tournament, the franchise might opt against taking the risk of including him in the playing eleven.
But with the skipper Virat Kohli likely to miss the early part of the tournament, as he is yet to recover from the shoulder injury that he had sustained during the Ranchi Test against Australia, it will be interesting to see whether De Villiers plays the tournament-opener or not.
On the other hand, Chris Morris is likely to play the opening game for the Delhi Daredevils as their opening game is on April 8 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.