“Happy Homecoming” – Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers land in Bengaluru for RCB Hall of Fame

Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers have landed in Bengaluru for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Hall of Fame event ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In a tweet announcing Gayle's arrival, RCB wrote:

“The Universe Boss has arrived at his favorite home. Entertainment has officially begun. Happy HOMECOMING, Chris!”

They shared another post for De Villers with the caption:

“The mothership has landed. We've an (alien) reporting from the Bengaluru base. Happy HOMECOMING, AB de Villiers!”

For the uninitiated, the Bengaluru-based franchise will permanently retire the jerseys of Gayle and de Villiers for their contribution.

The franchise announced the move last week:

“We promised you during last year’s IPL that we’ll get @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle together at the Chinnaswamy stadium. And yes, they’re going to be present at the #RCBUnbox event on the 26th of March 2023 for the RCB Hall of Fame induction.”

AB de Villiers has scored 4491 runs in 156 games for RCB at a strike rate of 158.64, including two centuries and 37 half-centuries. Meanwhile, Gayle has represented RCB in 85 games, scoring 3163 runs at a strike rate of 152.73, including five tons and 19 fifties.

Faf du Plessis to lead RCB in IPL 2023

Faf du Plessis will continue to lead RCB in IPL 2023. The franchise will look to win their first-ever IPL trophy after reaching the playoffs last year. The Bengaluru-based franchise will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2.

RCB squad for IPL 2023

Squad strength: 25 players (Overseas 8)

Players bought - Reece Topley (INR 1.9 crore), Himanshu Sharma (INR 20 lakh), Michael Bracewell (INR 1 crore), Manoj Bhandage (INR 20 lakh), Rajan Kumar (INR 70 lakh), Avinash Singh (INR 60 lakh).

Players retained - Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep.