Philippe unavailable for RCB, New Zealand's Allen signed up as replacement
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|| CF DESK ||
Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Philippe has pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) stating personal reasons, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ready to sign uncapped New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Finn Allen as the replacement of Philippe.
The 23-year-old Philippe made his international debut in the last T20 series against New Zealand, he played in all five matches and scored 105 runs.
"Philippe has made himself unavailable for the upcoming season due to personal reasons. The RCB management is disappointed to lose a player of Josh's calibre for this IPL season, but at the same time we fully understand, respect and support his decision of excluding himself from the tournament." RCB said in a statement.
His replacement Finn has scored three half-centuries in 12 First-Class games. The 21-year-old made 512 runs in 11 innings to become the Super Smash League's highest run-scorer this season.
Allen had a base price of Rs 20 lakh equivalent to that of Josh Philippe. It will be Finn's debut in the VIVO IPL season this year if he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Allen could miss his international debut because of IPL, as New Zealand is going to play against Bangladesh in a three-match T20 series which starts from March 28.
