“All Bengaluru should be smiling”: RCB coach Dinesh Karthik delighted with the return of THIS player

Following the conclusion of the first day of the IPL 2025 mega auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik expressed happiness with Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood to the franchise. In a move that left the fans very excited, RCB secured the return of Hazlewood for Rs 12.5 crore.

Hazlewood, who was last part of the RCB squad in 2021, will once again the leading the pacers in the upcoming IPL season. After securing his services, RCB’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik acknowledged the importance of Hazlewood to the team.

“Everybody from RCB and and all the fans have all said let’s go for Josh Hazlewood and here we have him. Josh Hazlewood, it was all about who can we get and we got Josh Hazlewood. I think all Bengaluru should be smiling at that option because we have seen what he can do in the year that he came, we qualified and he was such a major and integral part of that attack,” Karthik said.

RCB’s other buys of the first day included England all-rounder Liam Livingstone for INR 8.75 crore, young Indian wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma for INR 11 crore and explosive England batter Phil Salt for INR 11.5 crore. Karthik was excited about signing Jitesh and Salt for their explosive batting styles.

”He (Jitesh) is a very explosive middle -order batsman. We wanted someone who is on the fringes of the Indian team and he is right there. We have seen what he can do in the IPL. Has got areas that he can hit and RCB being a ground where you can play spin well, he comes as a very, very good option,” Karthik said about Jitesh.

“Phil Salt, what have I got to say? He is explosive. He is someone who can take on in the power play. Great attitude. Nice guy to have around in the team. Everything about him says he is the kind of guy that RCB would love to have,” Karthik said about Salt.

RCB also made an investment in youth by securing Rasikh Salam Dar, the promising fast bowler from Jammu & Kashmir, for INR 6 crore. The final acquisition of the day came in the form of young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, bought for INR 2.6 crore.

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