Why did Jacob Bethell miss RCB vs SRH clash of IPL 2026?
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Jacob Bethell was retained by RCB for IPL 2026.
The opening game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 got underway on March 28 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to field first. At the toss, he revealed that his side has handed debut caps to Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh.
A lot of fans were expecting Jacob Bethell to be part of RCB’s playing XI in the clash against SRH, especially after his heroics in T20 World Cup 2026. However, he missed out, leaving many confused and disappointed.
The England all-rounder impressed with his performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this month, finishing as the highest run-scorer for England with 280 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 152.17. He also hammered a century against India in the semi-final in a losing cause.
IPL 2026: Why did Jacob Bethell miss RCB vs SRH clash?
Notably, RCB could not find a place for Bethell in the playing XI in the clash with Phil Salt getting nod ahead as an opener alongside Kohli after his successful performance last season.
Moreover, the defending champions picked Romario Shepherd, Tim David and Jacob Duffy as other overseas players. Due to Josh Hazlewood’s absence in the opening game, RCB needed an overseas pacer in the XI and could not overlook Duffy.
In the current setup, Bethell will find it hard to earn a spot in the playing XI. However, he might get opportunities if others struggle to perform in the future.
Speaking about the match, RCB got a good start, dismissing crucial batters like Travis Head (11), Abhishek Sharma (7), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) cheaply in the powerplay.
However, Ishan Kishan scored a quickfire half-century for SRH and kept the scoreboard running. With Heinrich Klaasen, he etched a stand of 97 runs for the fourth wicket.
SRH’s Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
RCB’s Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.
Is Jacob Bethell part of RCB’s playing XI vs SRH?
No, Jacob Bethell is not part of RCB’s playing XI vs SRH.
Who won the toss in RCB vs SRH match of IPL 2026?
RCB won the toss and opted to field first in the encounter.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.