IPL 2017: AB De Villiers injured ahead of the tournament

In what could be a further blow to the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chances to win their first ever IPL, their newly appointed captain AB De Villiers has been injured ahead of the tournament. He was due to play for the Titans in the Momentum Cup, which is South Africa’s domestic One Day tournament but was ruled out due to a back injury.

The extent of the injury is not yet known and there is no decision taken regarding his participation in the IPL.

AB de Villiers, due to play for the Titans today in a South African one day domestic Final, is not playing due to a back injury. #IPL #RCB

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 31, 2017

About to get underway in Centurion. The big team news from either team is that AB de Villiers misses out due to a back injury #MODC pic.twitter.com/XoUaWCvhrg

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 31, 2017

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This news came in just one day after RCB coach Daniel Vettori confirmed that De Villiers would take up the role of the captain if Virat Kohli does not play. The Indian captain injured his shoulder during the third Test against Australia in Ranchi and missed the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala as well.

De Villiers has been one of the top performers for RCB in previous seasons and would be hoping to get back to full fitness before their first match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on April 5th.

De Villiers began his IPL career with the Delhi Daredevils and was an integral part of their squad until he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 along with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Vettori.

He has featured in 120 matches so far in his IPL career and has scored 3257 runs at an average of 39.24 with 21 half centuries and 3 centuries to his name. He has achieved a lot of success in the domestic T20 tournaments around the world.

However, when it comes to the national side, the story is quite different. While his average in the ODI and Test format is impressive, he has not managed to perform well in the T20 format averaging only 24.28 in 70 innings.