With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season approaching, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have made a bold move to address their long-standing batting concerns by securing England opener Phil Salt for a whopping INR 11.50 crore at the recent mega-auction.
RCB’s decision to release their former skipper Faf du Plessis, despite his success as an opener, raised concerns among fans. However, the franchise clarified that their move was driven by a need for a more aggressive foreign opener. Salt, with his stellar T20 performances, was the perfect replacement. The 28-year-old has represented England in 38 T20Is, scoring three centuries at a strike rate of 165. His IPL 2024 stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) saw him score 435 runs in 12 matches at an average of 39.54 and a strike rate of 182.00.
RCB’s batting coach, Dinesh Karthik, was vocal about the statistical insights that led to this acquisition. In a recently released video, the RCB batting coach pointed out Salt’s exceptional ability to dominate the powerplay.
“Phil Salt, 28% of the times gets 6-8 runs/over, and 30% of the times gets 12-15/over. So, one in four overs, he will hit 16 plus. Are you serious? One in two overs, he goes 12 runs or plus. How is that physically even possible?” Karthik was heard as saying in the video.
RCB made bold moves in IPL 2025 mega-auction
Salt’s potential to provide RCB with explosive starts will be crucial as the side will play their seven home games at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, their home ground. His ability to attack spin and pace alike makes him a hard weapon, especially on Indian pitches.
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Salt is expected to open the innings alongside Virat Kohli, who is likely to take over the captaincy. The middle order consists of names like Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, and Jitesh Sharma. Complementing this core are Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, and Krunal Pandya, forming a strong batting line-up capable of hurting any opposition. The 2016 finalists acquired 19 players at the auction and spent most of their purse amount to get hold of these athletes.
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