Anuj Rawat eyes long-term role as RCB's wicket-keeper batter

Anuj Rawat on Sunday hoped to cement his position as Royal Challengers Bengaluru's long-term wicketkeeper batter after veteran Dinesh Karthik has announced that this will be his last IPL season.

Rawat gave a glimpse of his versatility with a 25-ball 48 that helped RCB register a competitive 173 for six after initial struggles against the Chennai Super Kings.

It was quite fitting that the 24-year-old left-hander played that innings in the company of Karthik, who did the duty of wicketkeeper-batter for RCB over the last couple of seasons with a good degree of success.

Rawat said the RCB management has clearly communicated to him about his new role in the team.

"The communication has been very clear to me as in batting down the order. As someone keeping wickets, you have to bat in the middle-order a lot," Rawat said in a press-conference ahead of RCB's match against Punjab Kings on Monday.

The Delhi cricketer, who kept wickets for RCB in the last couple of matches during the IPL 2023, said his confidence level has improved.

"Last season also, I kept wickets in a few games and it gave me more confidence and as this season goes on, I am looking forward to contributing more as a wicketkeeper batsman," said Rawat.

Rawat said the Royal Challengers will be looking to win all their upcoming home fixtures after losing the first match against CSK.

Apart from Punjab, the Royal Challengers will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on March 29 and Lucknow Super Giants on April 2 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

• IPL 2024

"We are following the same process as the last match (against CSK). We are looking forward to our home games and hoping to win all of them," he added.