Jacob Bethell is finding it “cool” to open Royal Challengers Benagluru’s innings along side Virat Kohli. Bethell was promoted to the top after Phil Salt was ruled out due to an injury.
The 22-year-old England batter is getting to learn a lot from a star player like Kohli, be it at the crease or in the dressing room. Bethell says batting with Kohli is not pressure at all because with the spotlight always on the Indian legend, it allows him to bat more freely.
“It is cool. I have said it multiple times, how cool it is to bat with him and be involved in the dressing room with him. I don’t think it adds any more pressure. It is just nice to have someone of that calibre in your team. You can count on him, and a lot of the time, people are only watching him, so a lot of the pressure is off. It is not something that burdens you; it is something that allows you to play freely, I guess,” Bethell said ahead of RCB’s clash against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
RCB played their first five home matches of IPL 2026 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the team will move to the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur for their last two home games as part of a pre-planned arrangement.
Bethell also spoke about RCB’s temporary move to Raipur for the final phase of their home season. He said the team has settled in well and is confident of adapting quickly to the conditions ahead of the match against MI.
“This is our home away from home now. We had a great welcome yesterday at the hotel, and the transition to Raipur has been seamless. Training today is going to be very important because we have to adapt quickly. Mumbai has had a couple of days here, but I don’t really think that makes a huge difference. We are a confident team, and I think we are going to adapt pretty well,” he added.
