Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) of Star English batsman Phil Salt has rejoined the team ahead of the resumption of IPL 2025 on Saturday, May 17. The competition was briefly stopped but is now due to restart. Also following him will be English compatriots Jacob Bethell and Liam Livingstone to round off the return of RCB’s main batch of foreign players.
The IPL’s suspension had left questions of the availability of overseas players, most of whom had flown home. But RCB fans can now relax a little with their English trio raring for action.
Salt has played nine matches in the season, aggregating 239 runs at an average of 26.55 and striking at 168.30, including two half-centuries. In his absence, Jacob Bethell have been the surprise package and came up with blistering half-century against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as Virat Kohli’s opening partner.
RCB have also brought Tim David, the Australian power-hitter, and Romario Shepherd, the West Indian all-rounder, back. There were a few game-changing performances from David this year and Shepherd's match-winning knock against CSK that sealed the win for us.
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In the return fixture, RCB will square off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 17 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Bangalore outfit is presently placed second in the table with eight wins and 16 points from 11 matches. They come into the final with their four previous matches as wins, and hot off that momentum.
One more victory from their final three league matches would secure their playoff berth. With the bulk of their overseas players returning, RCB seems well-placed for a top-two finish. There have even been reports that Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood could return to the team in the coming days to boost their quest to win the title.
