Tim Seifert announced as replacement for RCB in place of departing Englishman Jacob Bethell post 26th May.
Tim Seifert named as Bethell’s temporary replacement at RCB.
Tim Seifert, a wicketkeeper from New Zealand, has joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as a temporary substitute for England’s Jacob Bethell. Seifert is presently a member of the PSL’s Karachi Kings, and his entrance in India is contingent upon the success of his club. The IPL stated in a news statement that he is available for selection starting on May 24.
The PSL final is scheduled for May 25 in Lahore, and Kings will play the PSL Eliminator versus Lahore Qalandars on Thursday night. This implies that he can only join RCB in Lucknow on May 26, one day before their last league game against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Seifert has so far amassed 226 runs in nine innings as an opener at Kings, opening the innings with David Warner. He has a strike rate of 145.80 and a best of 47. Seifert has played in the IPL before, albeit infrequently, for the Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL 2021) and Delhi Capitals (two games in 2022).
Following Bethell’s absence due to national obligations, Seifert was signed. After Friday’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was rescheduled from Bengaluru to Lucknow due to unfavourable weather in south India, Bethell is scheduled to depart for England.
In his first IPL season, Bethell has appeared in two games for RCB thus far. Bethell, who replaced Phil Salt in the lineup due to illness, hit a 33-ball 55 in his last innings on May 3 against the Chennai Super Kings. In addition, it is still RCB’s most recent tournament appearance; last Saturday, their home match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, which was scheduled for when the IPL resumed after a ten-day hiatus, was called off in Bengaluru.
Aside from Bethell, RCB is unsure about Australia’s Josh Hazlewood’s availability. He is currently in Brisbane at CA’s High-Performance Centre getting ready for the World Test Championship final next month.
RCB has won eight of their eleven league games and is now vying for a top-two position. Before playing the Lucknow Super Giants to close out their league stages, they will play Sunrisers Hyderabad in Lucknow on Friday.