RCB retires jerseys of ABD, Gayle

BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bangalore retired the jerseys of its former players and legends AB de Villiers (17) and Chris Gayle (333), during the Unbox 2.0 event at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

South African de Villiers and Gayle of the West Indies had been inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame last year, for their tremendous contribution to the Indian Premier League franchise.

They received their medals of honour from esteemed guests towards the end of the event on Sunday. An elated de Villiers said: “It is a touching gesture by RCB to induct me into the Hall of Fame. This franchise has a special place in my heart. I missed the [Chinnaswamy] atmosphere, so it was great to relive the experience once again.” On his part, Gayle said: “Firstly, thanks to the franchise for inducting me into the Hall of Fame. I have many fun memories of playing at Chinnaswamy. It (return) felt like a homecoming for me.” Both de Villiers and Gayle served RCB for long and played key roles in two of its IPL runner-up finishes (in 2011 and 2016).

De Villiers, a white-ball cricket great, spent 11 years at the Bengaluru franchise and scored 4,491 IPL runs before retiring from the tournament in 2021. Gayle, who joined the Royal Challengers setup as an injury replacement for Dirk Nannes in 2011 and never looked back, turned out for the southern side in seven editions while winning two IPL Orange Caps and racking up 3,163 runs in the League.

As part of Unbox 2.0, the RCB men’s team players, including skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, trained in front of raucous fans, who packed the stands which were open to public to its rafters. Although the event went on for about eight hours, they never stopped chanting. In fact, the spectators kept raising their decibel levels as the evening progressed. And, it was just a teaser of what to expect in the forthcoming IPL 2023 as the RCB fans will return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium after a gap of three years.

Franchise announces initiatives

Ahead of Unbox 2.0, Royal Challengers, via its head and vice-president Rajesh Menon, announced a few initiatives off the field – RCB Innovation Lab, transforming the Go Green project into a movement. Menon revealed that RCB has associated with LEADERS and would organise a two-day meet in Bengaluru, where the best in the business in sport and media would come together. Menon also said that the franchise has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with IIT-Madras. “We are looking at multiple products which will enhance the performance of athletes,” said Menon.