Royal Challengers Bangalore’s woes just get worse and worse as their star batsman AB de Villiers confirmed on Twitter that he will miss the opening match of the Indian Premier League [IPL] against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.

This comes as a huge blow for the Bangalore franchise as De Villiers has been one of their most consistent batsmen in recent years and notched up 687 runs at an average of 52.84 and a strike-rate of 168.79 in last year’s tournament.

The South Africa ODI captain, though, is expected to be fit in time for the franchise’s second match, against the Delhi Daredevils on Saturday.

With all the injuries in the Royal Challengers camp, Gujarat Lions opener Brendon McCullum wondered if his former international team-mate and now RCB coach Daniel Vettori might have to play.

The Royal Challengers have lost the services of KL Rahul for the season, while Sarfaraz Khan is also expected to be unavailable for the entirety of IPL 2017 due to a leg injury he suffered during a practice match.

Captain Virat Kohli will also miss the start of the tournament due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the Test series between India and Australia.