28 September,2011 03:38 PM IST | | Agencies
Royal Challengers Bangalore today suffered a major setback as wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament due to hand injury, which requires surgery to heal.
The South African broke his left middle finger during their practice on the eve of their second group B match against Kolkata Knight Riders and will be flying back home to undergo a surgery.
In the absence of de Villiers, either RCB's Sri Lankan import Tillakaratne Dilshan or KB Arun Karthik is likely to don the gloves.
Virat Kohli said de Villiers' loss will affect the balance of the side.
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"Unfortunately AB has broken his left fingre during practice and he is flying back home. We are not yet sure, who is going to keep the wickets. Not having AB is a big loss for us but we have to cope up with it. We have quality players in our ranks and we have to step up and take more responsibility now," he said.
RCB might bring in a change by roping in either Luke Pommerbasch or Van der Roelf as a foreign replacement in the squad.
Meanwhile Saurabh Tiwary has also hurt his hamstring during today's practice session but Kohli said the 21-year-old left-hander will be fit to play the game against KKR on Thursday.
