IPL 2017: RCB's AB de Villiers ruled out of GL match in Rajkot

Rajkot, April 18: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were dealt a huge blow for tonight's (April 18) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 match against Gujarat Lions (GL) with South African star batsman AB de Villiers ruled out due to injury.

RCB are at the bottom of the points table with just 1 win from 5 matches. They are desperately in search of success as they face Suresh Raina-led GL side at Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium in Rajkot. (RCB-GL match preview)

A 'disappointed' De Villiers took to the micro-blogging website Twitter to confirm that he will not be available for today's match.

"Disappointed to be missing the match tonight for RCB, due to injury. Good luck to @imVkohli and the team. Lets go @RCBTweets !!," the South African right-hander wrote on his Twitter page.

Disappointed to be missing the match tonight for RCB, due to injury. Good luck to @imVkohli and the team. Lets go @RCBTweets !!

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) April 18, 2017

The 33-year-old missed the opening two matches of the season due to back injury. He made a comeback with a bang, smashing 89 not out against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in a losing cause in Indore on April 10.

In the next two games, he scored 19 and 29, where the team lost to Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) respectively.

RCB have been hit by injuries this season. Opener KL Rahul and middle order batsman Sarfaraz Khan are out of the tournament due to injuries. Captain Virat Kohli missed 3 games at the start due to shoulder injury.

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