England’s Jacob Bethell scored a century in his previous T20 appearance but he has been warming benches at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Skipper Rajat Patidar has chosen to back last year’s match-winner, their most expensive overseas batter in the lineup, Phil Salt. As RCB suffered a collapse against Rajasthan Royals (RR) before Patidar and impact player Venkatesh Iyer came to rescue, Bethell became part of the debate again. But, experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has continued to back the current team combination with Josh Hazlewood replacing Jacob Duffy in the lineup. He says that the management is backing the players who helped them become champion in the previous edition.
“Phil Salt did well for us last year. Josh Hazlewood came in place of Jacob Duffy because he was already playing for us. We couldn't have done much different. I know the way Jacob Bethell batted in T20 World Cup 2026. There was a temptation to play him. But, being a team, we want to keep it as simple as we can,” Bhuvneshwar said in the post-match presentation.
“Things look different from an outsider's point of view but its different when you're in the group. We know he is a very good player but we are backing our last year's champion team. We can't chop and change much.”
Bethell’s debut IPL season
Bethell made his IPL debut for RCB last year against Delhi Capitals (DC) where he departed early. The young English all-rounder scored a crucial 33-ball 55 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). From two appearances last season, he scored 67 runs at a strike rate of 171.79. He was roped in for Rs 2.6 crore by RCB in the mega auction.
Salt’s numbers in IPL 2026
Salt scored 54 runs from three innings in the ongoing season at strike rate of 142.10. Salt scored eight runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2026 opener. He followed it up with a 30-ball 46 against CSK. On April 10, he was dismissed for a golden duck by Jofra Archer. Salt joined the list of batters with most golden ducks in his IPL career.
While Bhuvneshwar has indicated that Salt will continue to be backed, it will be interesting to see the team combination RCB opts for against Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 12. The last time Bethell played at Wankhede Stadium, he scored his maiden T20I century against India in T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal.