IPL 2021: RCB sign Finn Allen as replacement for Josh Philippe

Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed up New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Finn Allen as replacement for Josh Philippe who will be unavailable for the entire IPL 2021.

Notably, Finn had a base price of INR 20L equivalent to that of Josh Philippe and it will be his debut IPL season this year when he plays for RCB.

Meanwhile, Philippe, who made his IPL debut in 2020, played five games and scored 78 runs for the franchise. The 21-year-old wicket-keeper batsman recently set the BBL 2020 on fire with his sublime form and his absence is expected to hurt the Bengaluru-based franchise. The reason behind Philippe's absence from IPL 2021 is still unknown.

On the other hand, Philippe's replacement Finn has featured in 12 First-class games for New Zealand and scored three half centuries.

RCB Full List of players bought at Mini-Auction on Feb 18th

1. Glenn Maxwell – Rs 14.25 Cr
2. Sachin Baby – ₹20 lakh
3. Rajat Patidar – ₹20 lakh
4. Mohammed Azharuddeen – ₹20 lakh
5. Kyle Jamieson – ₹15 crore
6. Daniel Christian – ₹4.8 crore
7. Suyash Prabhudessai – ₹20 lakh
8. KS Bharat – ₹20 lakh

It is worth noting that the 14th edition of the IPL is all set to kick off on April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Moreover, IPL 2021 will be played across six venues with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata set to host the marquee event.

RCB Full Squad for IPL 2021: Players retained: Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Josh Philippe (Now replaced by Finn Allen), Shahbaz Ahmed and Pavan Deshpande.