IPL 2021: RCB picks left-arm pacer George Garton for UAE leg

Royal Challengers Bangalore have roped in England and Sussex all-rounder George Garton as their final overseas player for the 2021 IPL season. The franchise revealed the development through their official Twitter on August 25 (Wednesday).

“Talented all-rounder from England, George Garton, will join the RCB family for the rest of #IPL2021. He completes our overseas players quota for the season,” read RCB’s tweet.

Garton, 24, was recently a part of the inaugural edition of The Hundred, where he finished with as the joint-third highest wicket-taker, with 10 wickets from nine fixtures while representing Southern Brave.

In his overall T20 career of 38 matches, Garton has bagged 44 wickets at 20.06 and an economy rate of 8.26, while he has 187 runs in 14 T20 innings. Garton was included in the England team as a cover during the 2017-18 Ashes, while he was also a part of England’s squad for the recent home series against Sri Lanka, however, he is yet to make his international debut.

RCB’s plenty of changes

Garton’s is RCB’s fourth overseas inclusion in the recent past after the franchise roped in Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, pacer Dushmantha Chameera and Singapore’s Tim David for the second leg of the tournament, scheduled to go underway from September 19 in the UAE.

Notably, RCB does not have the services of the Australian trio of Adam Zampa, Daniel Sams and Kane Richardson – all unavailable for the UAE leg – apart from the New Zealand duo of Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn who are a part of the national squad for the upcoming five-T20I away series in Bangladesh.

Hasaranga was named the Player of the Series recently against India, while Chameera made a mark too with his impressive economy in a series that the hosts won 2-1. David, on the other hand, has been a handy T20 commodity in the last few years, having participated in short-format leagues globally, including the Pakistan Super League and Bish Bash League.

Garton’s inclusion completes RCB’s overseas slot, with eight players set to travel to the emirates. At the time of season suspension, RCB were placed third in the points tally with 10 points.