Why Phil Salt Is Not Playing For RCB In IPL 2026 Match Against Gujarat Titans?

England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who scored a half-century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their sixth match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season against Delhi Capitals on Saturday (April 18), is not playing Friday’s match against Gujarat Titans at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. According to RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, who opted to field first after winning the toss, Salt is out of the fixture due to an injury, and in his place England’s Jacob Bethell is included in the side.

“One change – Salty got injured; Bethell is in,” Patidar said.

Bethell, who made his IPL debut for RCB in 2025, last played a competitive cricket match on March 5, 2026, for England against India in the semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and scored 105 runs from 48 balls as a No. 4 batter in the 254-run chase.

Against GT, however, he will most likely play as an opener. In the IPL, Bethell has scored 67 runs in two matches. He got out for 12 runs on his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals, but in the next match, he played a knock of 55 runs from 33 balls against Chennai Super Kings at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 3, 2025.

Jacob Bethell’s performances in IPL

AGAINST	RUNS	BALLS	4/6s	STRIKE RATE	VENUE	DATE
Delhi Capitals	12	6	1/1	200.00	Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi	April 27, 2025
Chennai Super Kings	55	33	8/2	166.66	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru	May 3, 2025

In the ongoing 2026 edition of the IPL, Salt opened the innings for RCB in all six matches and, with the help of two half-centuries, amassed a total of 202 runs. In RCB’s last IPL 2026 match, he played a super knock of 63 runs from 38 balls and hammered 4 fours and 3 sixes during his stay at the crease.

Phil Salt in IPL 2026

AGAINST	RUNS	BALLS	4/6s	STRIKE RATE	VENUE	DATE
Sunrisers Hyderabad	8	7	2/0	114.28	Bengaluru	March 28
Chennai Super Kings	46	30	3/2	153.33	Bengaluru	April 5
Rajasthan Royals	0	1	0/0	0	Guwahati	April 10
Mumbai Indians	78	36	6/6	216.66	Mumbai (WS)	April 12
Lucknow Super Giants	7	8	1/0	87.5	Bengaluru	April 15
Delhi Capitals	63	38	4/3	165.78	Bengaluru	April 18

Gujarat Titans also have made a couple of changes to their playing XI for the big match against RCB. West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder is making his GT debut on Friday, and in addition to him, Manav Suthar is also included in the Titans’ playing XI. They have replaced New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips and uncapped Indian fast bowler Ashok Sharma.

Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj