Jacob Bethell IPL 2026 (Source: AFP)
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a crucial IPL 2026 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Both teams, eyeing the top-two finish, with RCB looking to secure the top spot and SRH hoping to break into the top two, are set to produce a cracker of a game.
However, the current talk of the town is the unavailability of opener, Jacob Bethell.
RCB Captain Rajat Patidar reveals why opener Jacob Bethell is not playing today
For RCB, captain Rajat Pathidar retured to lead the side after missing the previous match against Punjab Kings.
Also read: KKR's Golden Boy Ruled Out Of IPL 2026
At the time of the toss, when asked about team combination, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Patidar confirmed Bethell's ouster. Patidar stated, "Bethell got injured in the last game. So, I am coming in for him."
SRH vs RCB, Match No. 67 IPL 2026: Playing 11s for both teams
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam
Impact Substitutes: Tim David, Jordan Cox, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
Impact Substitutes: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
No Bethell, No Salt: Who will open with Virat Kohli?
RCB’s priority opener, Phil Salt, has been sidelined from playing after he suffered a major injury. The explosive opener suffered an injury to his left-hand index finger on April 18 while trying to save a boundary, and subsequently flew to the UK for scans and recovery.
Thus, in Salt’s absence, his countryman, Jacob Bethell, received an extended run in the playing XI. However, the youngster failed to convert his opportunities into consistent performances.
Also read: Phil Salt Final Decision Taken At RCB After Playoff Qualification In IPL 2026
Retained by the defending champions for ₹2.60 Crore, the English batting all-rounder struggled to find consistency at the top of the order, managing 96 runs in 7 innings with a strike rate of 124.67.
However, now that Bethell is injured, it will be interesting to see who will step up as an opener. In most likelihood, either Venkatesh Iyer or Devdutt Padikkal could come in to open.
It is worth noting that, according to ESPNcricinfo, the RCB team-sheet had Venkatesh Iyer pencilled in as opener alongside Virat Kohli.
RCB aim for a top-two finish
For Bengaluru, a victory against Hyderabad will guarantee them a top-two finish and confirm their place in Qualifier 1 alongside Gujarat Titans.
Rajat Patidar’s side currently sits at the top of the table with 18 points and a healthy net run rate, meaning a win would shut the door on any competition from Hyderabad.
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