The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won’t have the services of Phil Salt for the Gujarat Titans (GT) match on April 30 in Ahmedabad. After a lukewarm start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, 54 runs in 3 matches, Salt had picked up form, scoring 148 runs in his next 3 games.
Phil Salt’s injury persists
Before RCB was to host GT on April 24, Salt injured himself during practice. The reigning champions didn’t reveal the nature of the injury, which created uncertainty regarding his return, and Salt’s fellow England teammate, Jacob Bethell, replaced him as the opener against GT.
Salt was expected to be available for the Delhi Capitals (DC) match on April 27, but he didn’t play. Now, according to TV9 Kannada, Salt won’t be fit for the away game against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium. As mentioned, there’s no idea about Salt’s injury.
No one knows whether it was a niggle, which has taken a long time for him to recover from, or a serious injury, which could potentially rule him out for the remainder of the IPL 2026 season. If it’s the former, RCB could have him back after the GT game, as they’ll have a 6-day break with the Lucknow Super Giants match scheduled for May 7 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. If the latter’s true, RCB will have to look for replacements.
Jacob Bethell subs in
Bethell, who’d played 2 matches last season in Salt’s absence, hasn’t really hit the ground running. He made 14 (10) against GT and 20 (11) against DC. He’d ended the T20 World Cup 2026, in imperious touch, with a stunning century against India in the semifinal. However, he hasn’t been able to transfer that form to RCB yet.
The opening partnership between Bethell and Kohli has been 24 (18) and 26 (17). Although RCB won both these games, the impact of the opening partnership in the powerplay just hasn’t been the same. But, considering the quality player Bethell is, RCB wouldn’t really be worried ahead of the GT clash.
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