\u201cHis fitness has been exceptional. He\u2019s been out of the game for an extended period of time, so he\u2019s had time to work on fitness. The only challenge for him was the bowling loads. Once he got the all-clear from Cricket Australia to build those bowling loads, it\u2019s a bit of a painstaking process to get the lungs up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling. Hopefully we can get a definitive timeline, probably in the next 10-12 days, on when he can return to play,\u201d Vettori said in the pre-match press conference here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Vettori stated that three Indian uncapped batters \u2014 R. Smaran, Salil Arora and Aniket Verma \u2014 are all in the race to gain spots in the eleven. \u201cSmaran is probably in the best form among anyone in India. Salil\u2019s form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and warm-up games has been incredibly impressive. Abhishek (Sharma) has been a huge fan of him. We just have to balance our fifth and sixth bowler options against a very strong RCB batting line up,\u201d Vettori said.<\/p>\n
Stand-in captain Ishan Kishan and his deputy Abhishek form the right leadership group, the coach said. \u201cIshan has been around in the IPL for a long time now. He has led in the under-19s, and he has led his State team to the Syed Mushtaq title. He is a confident player and leader \u2014 attributes that we looked at when he was appointed. Ishan and Abhishek are good friends, and they know the team exceptionally well. They will lead from the front,\u201d the former New Zealand captain said.<\/p>\n
Published on Mar 27, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n