English
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru are currently in second place on the IPL 2026 Points Table with 12 points in 9 matches so far. Virat Kohli’s side had the opportunity to rise to the top of the table by suffered a loss at the hands of Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans last week. They will now head face Lucknow Super Giants away from home after nearly a week-long break on Thursday.
RCB, however, have suffered a major injury blow with Kohli’s opening partner Phil Salt out of action after suffering a finger injury which has ruled him out of the last three games for the side. Salt’s England teammate Jacob Bethell has been opening the batting with Kohli for RCB in his absence.
It has now emerged that Salt has returned home to England to spend time with his family as he recovers from the finger injury. The IPL champions haven’t revealed the extent of Salt’s injury but according to a report in ESPNCricinfo website, he damaged a finger in his left hand while diving to save a boundary in the 6th over of the second innings against Delhi Capitals on April 18 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Salt had been retained for Rs 11.5 crore by Kohli’s RCB ahead of IPL 2026 season.
The England wicketkeeper-opener started off the IPL 2026 brilliantly with 202 runs in six innings at a strike-rate of 168.33. “Both player and franchise remain hopeful that the injury will heal soon enough for Salt to return to India this month, with RCB aiming to defend the title that they won for the first time last season,” the ESPNCricinfo report stated.
RCB are well within their rights to seek a replacement for Salt if he fails to recover from his finger injury but they have decided to give the England batter sufficient time to recover. Salt was one of the top performers for RCB in the victorious campaign in the IPL 2025 season, scoring 403 runs in 13 matches with 4 fifties at a strike-rate of 175.98.
Salt’s replacement Bethell is yet to fire in the IPL 2026 season, scoring only 39 runs in 3 innings. Bethell was retained for Rs 2.6 crore by RCB ahead of IPL 2026.
“When I got to RCB, I was curious about the experience. Watching Virat, Rajat (Patidar), and speaking to DK (Dinesh Karthik), I realised the game shifts here. It’s played at a high tempo; you have to be aggressive and brave,” Bethell said.
On opening the batting with Kohli in Salt’s absence, Bethell said, “Walking out with Virat, hearing the crowd, it was loud. You have to stay completely switched on.”
Several RCB players have reportedly travelled to the Maldives after the loss to Gujarat Titans last week for a mid-season break ahead of their next fixture against LSG on Thursday.
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