IPL 2017: RCB's AB de Villiers to miss opener; Sarfaraz doubtful for entire tournament

Bengaluru, April 4: Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) star batsman AB de Villiers will miss the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 tomorrow (April 5) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

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RCB's preparations for the 10th edition of IPL have been hit by injuries to key players. Regular captain Virat Kohli will miss few matches due to a shoulder injury. Opener KL Rahul too is suffering from shoulder injury and he is ruled out of the entire tournament. In Kohli's absence, Shane Watson will lead the side.

Last night (April 3), RCB's head coach Daniel Vettori announced that De Villiers will miss the opening game as he has "minor discomfort" in his back. RCB are hoping that the South African right-hander will be fit to play the team's 2nd game at home on Saturday (April 8).

"AB de Villiers has travelled well. However he still has some minor discomfort and we felt that couple of days off would be best before we have him back in action. We hope to see him on the field in good form by 8th April match against Delhi Daredevils," Vettori said.

Really disappointed to be missing the opening game of the IPL tomorrow, good luck to @ShaneRWatson33 and the rest of the @RCBTweets boys!

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) April 4, 2017

Vettori also confirmed that young Indian batsman Sarfaraz Khan will most likely miss the entire IPL 10 after injuring his leg during training at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday (April 3).

"Owing to a leg injury during the final Bangalore based practice match session, Sarfaraz Khan will most likely be unavailable to play as a part of the RCB squad this VIVO IPL and we are evaluating the same with the BCCI. His absence will be definitely felt on-field and we wish him a speedy recovery," Vettori said.

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