Jacob Bethel was dismissed for 14 points during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first appearance in the 2026 Indy Premier League on Friday.
Bethel’s involvement in the tournament was called into question this week after England’s Test No.3 was not used through RCB’s opening six matches and former captain Sir Alastair Cook urged Bethel to return to Warwickshire and play county cricket instead of “sitting around in the IPL”.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen also posted on social media: “Alastair Cook has no idea what it’s like to play in the IPL…Stay in India, Jacob. Even when he’s not playing, he’s learning and I know he’ll become a better player.”
Bethel got his first appearance of the season as an “impact player” in the match against Gujarat Titans. Although he was not initially selected as the starting lineup, he came on as a substitute as the opening batsman as RCB chased 206 points to victory.
The 22-year-old left-hander stayed at the crease for 10 balls and hit three fours on, but at point he was hit straight by a fielder off a throw from Mohammed Siraj and finished with three overs. This was extremely frustrating.
Legendary RCB and Indian batsman Virat Kohli stepped up to lead his team to eventual victory with a crushing 81 off 44 balls despite being dropped the first ball and taking an early hit for Bethel.
Virat Kohli hit 81 off 44 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Titans.
Kohli shared a decisive position with Devdutt Padikkal (55 off 27) for the second wicket as the defending champions registered their fifth win in seven matches and moved up to second in the standings with seven balls to spare.
Earlier, Gujarat opener Sudarsan had scored a sublime century of 100 off 58 balls in the Titans’ total of 205-3, but ultimately his efforts proved to be in vain.
England’s Jos Buttler scored 25 runs in 16 bats and was Gujarat’s number three batsman.
‘What’s right for me right now’ – Bethel responds to criticism of IPL stint
Despite being on the sidelines before Friday’s game, Bethel, who earns around £250,000 from RCB, defended being in the IPL rather than Warwickshire.
“I strongly believe this is what I need to do now,” Bethell said on the Sky Cricket podcast earlier this week.
“After the World Cup, I feel better now than I did a month ago just by having time to work on the players here and the pure standard of cricket in India and the IPL.
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Jacob Bethel answers questions about county cricket’s ongoing participation in the Indian Premier League
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how great it is until they come here and actually participate in the team and the tournament.
“It has a completely different feel. I feel like everyone is subconsciously raising their game because of the size of the tournament.”
Bethel added: “You might not have as much time in the midfield as playing four rounds in the County Championship, but I think that’s going to be very important for me personally going forward in terms of my ability to actually continue to do what I want to do when there’s a lot of attention.”
“We’re also scheduled to have practice games when we’re not playing. We know it’s not the same as a real game, but it feels like the whole team is working together, so we’re taking timeouts in between.”
