Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday announced that New Zealand fast bowling all-rounder Scott Kuggeleijn will replace Kane Richardson in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Aussie pacer left the tournament.
Kuggeleijn was part of the Mumbai Indians set-up as a net bowler and was in Delhi when the call came for him to join RCB in Ahmedabad.
Richardson and leg-spinner Adam Zampa left India after midnight on Wednesday as they wanted to reach Australia amid rising cases of Covid-19.
"We are happy to announce the arrival of Scott Kuggeleijn, New Zealand fast bowling all-rounder, as a replacement for Kane Richardson," said a statement from RCB.
"Scott was part of the Mumbai Indians squad as a net bowler in Delhi and RCB arranged for a bubble to bubble transfer on April 27. He has now joined the RCB bio-bubble in Ahmedabad after testing negative on his arrival, adhering to IPL protocols," the statement added.
RCB will next play on Friday against Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
The former CSK man’s addition to RCB was met with criticism from fans because Kuggeleijn had been accused of raping a woman in a Hamilton East flat on 17 May 2015. The case went to trial in 2016 where there was a hung jury, and again in 2017, when the jury declared him not guilty.
However, the evidence against Kuggeleijn and the victim’s testimony were enough for some of those who followed the case to form a strong opinion against the cricketer.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)