Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been forced to make one against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Their in-form opener, Phil Salt, won’t be able to take the field. This doesn’t bode well for RCB, since Salt has been in top form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. But this gives his fellow Englishman Jacob Bethell a chance to make his IPL and RCB debut.
“We will bowl first. The wicket is quite good to bat on, and I don’t think it’s going to change too much, and we like to chase. It’s our first win at our home, and we will try to continue playing good cricket. In every match, we are trying to improve, so we want to keep learning. Bethell has come in place of Salt,” RCB captain Rajat Patidar said after winning the toss.
Who is Jacob Bethell?
Unlike Salt, who’s a wicketkeeper batter, Bethell is an all-rounder. He’s a top-order batter who bowls some handy left-arm orthodox spin. Aged just 21, Bethell has already made his debut for England in all formats. His T20I numbers are very impressive, and that’s why RCB paid Rs 2.6 crore at the IPL 2025 auction for Bethell.
This won’t be the first time the 21-year-old will play franchise cricket. Bethell has played 3 seasons of The Hundred already and made his Big Bash League debut at the end of 2024 for the Melbourne Renegades.
Bethell to replace Salt as RCB opener
In Salt’s absence, it’s expected that Bethell will open alongside Virat Kohli. He is a top-order batter by trade and shouldn’t have much problem opening the innings. Since the RCB batting lineup have been doing well in their respective positions, it seems obvious that Bethell comes in as a like-for-like replacement for Salt.
RCB Playing XI vs DC
Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh
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