IPL 2021: Royal Challengers Bangalore yet to get NOC for Hasaranga, Chameera from SLC

Colombo, August 23: The Royal Challengers Bangalore signing leg-spin sensation Wanindu Hasaranga and pacer Dushmantha Chameera made headlines but the process may not yet be a smooth one. The Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) is yet to give NOC to the two players.

Royal Challengers had signed Hasaranga and Chameera as replacements for Australian duo of Adam Zampa and Daniel Sams.

"I don't know, I have to check. We are under lockdown till the end of the month. We have not taken any decision yet as they will have to apply for the NOCs. We are not aware of these players being selected, neither have they sought permission from us," SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told Cricbuzz.

"As a team RCB started the first half of the season well. We gained plenty of momentum and will certainly continue that progress in the season and a half. We are in a decent position but we also know that we have plenty of work to do," Mike Hesson said in a virtual press briefing.

Sri Lankan all-rounder Hasaranga will now be part of RCB for the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE. He replaced Zampa. Hasaranga was the Player of the Series in the recently concluded Sri Lanka-India T20I series taking 7 wickets in 3 matches at an economy rate of 5.58.

Talking about Hasaranga, Mike Hesson, the new head coach of the RCB, said: "We have an extensive scouting programme, and he has been on our radar for a long time. We aren't surprised by his success in recent times, he has been doing it for a while. We like his skill set. We like the fact that he is a multi-skill cricketer, so he offers us the ability to bat a little bit deeper as well. That gives us a lot of exciting options."

Hesson took over as RCB head coach after Simon Katich stepped down owing to personal reasons.