With KL Rahul being ruled out of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Daniel Vettori said AB de Villiers or Kedar Jadhav can don the gloves.

The India opener KL Rahul suffered a shoulder injury during the recently concluded India-Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy and is all set go under the knife for the troubled shoulder.

Rahul played through the pain barrier during the four-match series, scoring six half-centuries to play an integral role in India’s 2-1 win over the visitors.

The right-handed batsman was RCB’s third highest run-getter in the past season, behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, with a tally of 397 from 12 innings, and so there is no doubt that he will be badly missed by the Bangalore-based franchise.

Confirming the news that Rahul will miss the whole season, Vettori said De Villiers of Jadhav can take his place behind the stumps.

“Owing to a shoulder injury, KL Rahul will be travelling for his treatment and thus will be unavailable to play as a part of the RCB squad this VIVO IPL.”

“His absence will be definitely felt by the team but both Kedar Jadhav and AB de Villiers are accomplished wicket keepers and we would look at one of them to take up the charge.”

“We wish KL Rahul a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon,” he added.

Rahul is RCB’s second major injury setback after captain Virat Kohli had also been ruled out for at least a few weeks at the start of the IPL.

The last year’s runners-up will begin their campaign against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 5.