New Delhi [India], December 2 (ANI): England’s young star Jacob Bethell is looking forward to playing alongside Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India stalwart Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
Bethell became RCB’s latest acquisition in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction for Rs 2.6 crore. The 21-year-old attracted bids from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings but both franchises failed to overcome RCB’s resolve.
Bethell will link up with his England teammates Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone at RCB but it is Virat he is most excited to rub shoulders with.
“It’s a bit of a given, isn’t it? “Virat! He’s a great of the game so… King Kohli,” Bethell said, with a wry smile, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
The cash-rich league has been a platform for budding talents to absorb the experience and implement it in taking their game to new heights. Even Bethell is looking to go into the IPL and walk away with a “wealth of experience.”
“Any kind of overseas player that’s gone over there has come back with a wealth of experience,” he added.
Bethell was used at the number three spot instead of Ollie Pope, who regularly features in the top of the batting order for England in the opening Test against New Zealand.
As a result, Pope, who was put in charge of keeping the wicket, was downgraded to the number six spot. After his innings-saving 77 on Day 2, Pope informed about his plans to make the number three spot his own.
But Bethell hopes to have a chance to continue in the number three spot as his game perfectly suits the demands of the position.
“I like batting up the order so, yeah, I was really happy that opportunity arose. I’ve always wanted to bat in the top four so three is perfect,” he said.
“I think my game is fit to play any style. On Sunday we saw a bit more of an attacking style. I can also absorb a bit of pressure, so I’m sure at times in my career there will be times to do that as well,” he added.
In his debut Test for England, Bethell fell flat in the first innings after managing just 10 from 34 deliveries. He battled hard for survival on the field but it was up to no avail.
His struggles eventually ended after he nicked the ball away to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell off Nathan Smith. In the second innings, he looked more assured of himself and fired an unbeaten 50 in just 37 balls which took England to a comfortable 8-wicket success over New Zealand.
“That’s part of the game, isn’t it? I saw it [as] if I got through to lunch, it looked like a different pitch after lunch. It does help when you’ve got Harry Brook batting, he makes it look quite easy,” Bethell said about his outing in the first innings.
“I think it could have been a different story, I battled hard and unluckily didn’t make it through to lunch but another day you get through and go on to make a big one,” he added.
With England, 1-0 up in the series, securing the three-Test affair would certainly be something that they would eye in the second match, beginning on December 6 in Wellington. (ANI)
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