Adam Zampa replaces Kane Richardson in RCB

Richardson, who was bought for Rs 4 crore by RCB at the auction, opted out of the cash-rich tournament to be with his wife for the birth of his first child.

'We’re thrilled to welcome Adam Zampa in RCB colours. He replaces Kane Richardson. Let’s #PlayBold Adam Zampa,' RCB tweeted on Monday night.

'The RCB family is excited for Kane and his wife who are expecting the birth of their first child and respect his decision to pull out of the tournament,' it added.

Zampa's inclusion will boost RCB's spin arsenal, with the Bengaluru-based franchise already having the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Moeen Ali and Pawan Negi in the ranks, who can make use of the conditions in the UAE.

"We are disappointed to not have Kane's skills with us this IPL as he certainly on top of his game. However, once we found out Kane and Nyki's baby was due during the IPL, it's an exciting time and we were fully supportive of Kane wanting to be at the birth of their first child,' said RCB's Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson.

"When looking at our squad for UAE conditions we felt it was an opportunity to bring in another quality leg-spinner in Adam Zampa to provide cover for Chahal and also give us extra options if conditions suit spin as expected during the tournament," he added.

This will be Zampa's second stint in the IPL as he earlier played for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2016 and 2017.

The 13th edition of IPL was shifted out of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be played from September 19 to November 10 across 3 cities in the UAE - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.