Mayank Agarwal to replace Padikkal in RCB, DC sign Sediqullah Atal for Brook
New Delhi, May 7 (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday picked Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for injured Devdutt Padikkal, while Delhi Capitals signed Afghanistan's Sediqullah Atal in place of Englishman Harry Brook for the remainder of the Indian Premier League.
Padikkal, who played 10 matches for RCB this season and scored 247 runs with the help of two half-centuries, sustained an injury to his right hamstring.
Agarwal has played 127 IPL matches so far, scoring 2661 runs. He has one IPL hundred and 13 fifties against his name. He joins RCB for Rs 1 Crore.
DC, on the other hand, have signed up 23-year-old Afghan batter Atal, who made headlines with his heroic 85-run knock against Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
Atal has played 49 T20s across various competitions, scoring 1,507 runs at an average of 34.25, including 13 half-centuries.
He first rose to prominence during the Kabul Premier League 2023, where he smashed 48 runs in a single over. In that innings, he remained unbeaten on 118 off 56 balls, which included seven fours and ten sixes. He also scored a century in the tournament final, making 103 off just 42 deliveries.
Atal played a pivotal role in Afghanistan’s title win at the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024, topping the run-scorers’ chart with 368 runs in five matches.
He replaces Brook, who has been banned by the BCCI for pulling out of the IPL despite being bought at the auction.
"We are excited to welcome Atal to the Delhi Capitals. He is an exciting, young talent who has impressed everyone with his performances for both the Afghanistan youth and senior teams," DC head coach Hemang Badani said.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฑ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ โจ
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 7, 2025
This campaign won’t be the same without you, Dev. Heal up fast, we’ll keep the fight on, and wait for your comeback next year,… pic.twitter.com/Z4KJ1LkxfG
เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎ เฒฎเฒจเณ เฒฎเฒ เฒฎเฒฏเฒพเฒเฒเณ! ๐ฅน
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 7, 2025
After 1๏ธโฃ2๏ธโฃ long years, ๐ก๐’๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ค where he belongs. Happy #HomeComing, Mayank. ๐ก
12th Man Army will be on top of the moon hearing this, and they’ll all be right behind you. ๐ซถ pic.twitter.com/k5RwAGINrG
An Afghan Tiger joins the ranks, welcoming Sediqullah Atal ๐โค๏ธ
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 7, 2025
He replaces Harry Brook in the squad. pic.twitter.com/MBrVn4MdVZ
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
