IPL 2017: Sreenath Aravind says the trio of AB de Villiers, Tymal Mills and Samuel Badree will return for the next game

What’s the story?

RCB left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind has said that the trio of AB de Villiers, Samuel Badree and Tymal Mills- all of whom missed the last game against the Gujarat Lions in Rajkot,- will return for the next game against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.

“I think it's minor. They will come back for next match,” he said when asked about the extent of injuries that they were carrying.

Unlike previous years, the wicket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this year has not been a batting beauty as it has renowned to be over the years and Aravind felt that the pitch has been a good one for the game and it allowed to bowlers to employ variations.

“The tenth edition of IPL was supposed to be batsmen's paradise everywhere and we as bowlers are used to that. In Bengaluru, change of pace works well and I think the wicket here is behaving well.It all depends on how we bowl and bat that day against any team. That's what matters,“ he said.

In case you didn’t know...

Owing to an injury, de Villiers revealed on Twitter ahead of the game that he will not be playing and it meant that the others had to take higher ownership as far as batting was concerned. That was duly taken by Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, who helped put 213 runs on the board.

Badree, who took a hat-trick in the game against the Mumbai Indians also did not play a part in the game, reportedly because he too was injured along with Mills, who is yet to put a standout performance in the competition.

The heart of the matter

Aravind added that the bowlers were focussed on essaying their role to the best of their capabilities and not worried about the opposition batsman. He further added that hitting the right areas at the end of the innings was an area that still required improvement for the RCB, who are right now sixth on the points table.

He also added that team was looking to take it one game at a time from here on in.

Extra Cover: IPL 2017: AB de Villiers out injured for the match against Gujarat Lions

What’s next?

If de Villiers does play on Sunday, it will add more strength to the RCB batting unit. The South African will have fond memories of the Eden Gardens as it was here last year that he and Kohli helped the RCB chase down 184 runs in 18.4 overs.

Author’s take

The news of the trio returning to the fold will surely boost the confidence of the RCB, who have to string together a few wins in order to get back in contention for a spot in the top 4. They have managed to 2 out of their 6 matches so far and will hope to get the better of an in-form Knight Riders in Kolkata on Sunday.