Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Phil Salt has been ruled out of the IPL 2026 match against Gujarat Titans due to an injury. This announcement was made by captain Rajat Patidar following the toss, confirming that Jacob Bethell will replace him and open the batting alongside Virat Kohli.
Salt, an England international, played two matches for RCB last season and was anticipated to play a more prominent role in the current season after a successful T20 World Cup in 2026. The team management had relied on Salt as an opener, where he scored 202 runs in six matches at an impressive strike rate of 168.33. Bethell also proved his capabilities last year, scoring a half-century when Salt was unavailable due to international duties, accumulating 67 runs in two matches at a strike rate of 171.79.
For the match against Gujarat Titans, Bethell is noted on the Impact Players list but was also confirmed by Patidar: “One change – Salty is injured, Bethell is in,” he stated.
RCB Wins Toss, Elects to Field
Bengaluru won the toss and opted to field first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gujarat’s captain, Shubman Gill, expressed confidence in batting first, noting that the pitch is unlikely to change significantly throughout the match. He emphasized the need for his team to assess the conditions carefully and aim for a strong start to maintain momentum.
“Teams that have chased at this ground generally have had good success, but I think this looks like an even wicket. Hopefully, it will be a good game for us. It’s all about assessing the conditions early. If you get off to a good powerplay, then you can build on that,” Gill remarked.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): 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.
