Phil Salt has left the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) camp to return to the UK for scans on his injured left hand finger. He sustained the injury while fielding during the sixth over of the Delhi Capitals’ innings in match No. 26 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Salt’s absence is significant for RCB, as he had a strong start to the season, scoring 202 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 168.33.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Salt returned to the UK at the request of the England team management and has already had scans on his injured finger. He is expected to rejoin RCB once he has recovered.
With Salt sidelined, Jacob Bethell now has the chance to step up this IPL season. Bethell had not been included in RCB’s playing XI before since Salt, Tim David, and Romario Shepherd were performing well together.
So far, Bethell has scored 39 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 150.00, with a top score of 20 against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium while chasing 76 runs.
RCB’s Title Defense on Track
RCB has earned 12 points after nine matches this season, with six wins and three losses. They are currently in second place on the points table, just one point behind Punjab Kings (PBKS). PBKS finished as runners-up last season and had started strong, winning their first seven games before suffering two consecutive losses.
RCB’s last match was a four-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. They will now move from M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Chhattisgarh. Their next game is against Lucknow Super Giants on May 7.