When Jacob Bethell played one of the most unbelievable knocks in the semi-final of the 2026 T20 World Cup against India, almost taking England to an improbable win, the general assumption would have been that he walks into any future T20 XIs. That would be true for most teams, but for Bethell’s IPL 2026 team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), this decision is not as straightforward.RCB procured Bethell for INR 2.60 crore ahead of IPL 2025 and retained him for the upcoming season. The allrounder played two games and impressed with a 33-ball 55 against Chennai Super Kings, but with RCB having a set overseas line-up, his chances were limited. Bethell’s stocks have risen sharply since IPL 2025. He scored a century against Australia in an Ashes Test in Sydney, recorded his maiden ODI century against South Africa and was England’s highest run-getter at the 2026 T20 World Cup, scoring 280 runs in eight innings, striking at 152.17.
RCB have, however, retained most of their overseas buys from last season, most of whom played a starring role in their maiden title run. So, the question is, on current form, does Bethell walk into the RCB starting XII? If he does, who does he displace? Let’s explore a few options.
Drop Padikkal or Salt, play Bethell at the top
The most obvious choice is to bank on Bethell’s current form and slot him at the top of the order. But to do that, RCB will have to drop Phil Salt. The opener had a patchy T20 World Cup, managing just 130 runs in eight innings but was one of the stars of RCB’s title run last season, finishing as their second-highest run scorer. RCB’s director of cricket, Mo Bobat, also threw his weight behind Salt and he seems to be a certain starter.
“Those aren’t concerns for me,” Bobat said about Salt’s form. “Someone like Phil Salt is still ranked in one of the top – I’ve not looked recently – but top two or three T20 batters in the world. So, there’s a new depth of confidence there.
“He also really enjoys being with RCB; he enjoys the franchise, he enjoys his partnership with Virat [Kohli]. I’m pretty sure we’ll see at the start of the season Phil Salt doing his thing. I’m looking forward to watching him and Virat walk out like they do. A couple of gladiators walking out, it’s always exciting. We’ve got a lot of confidence in our team, a huge amount of confidence in Phil Salt and I’m sure he’ll go out there and do his thing.”
On Thursday evening as well, Salt had an extended net session first alongside Bethell and then with Kohli.
That leaves the No. 3 spot, which Devdutt Padikkal made his own last year, scoring 247 runs in ten innings before being ruled out of the season due to a hamstring injury. Padikkal has had a solid year. He scored 309 runs in six innings at the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at a strike rate of 167.02 and an average of 61.80 and has spoken in depth about his improved strike-rate. Will RCB risk dropping Padikkal?
David/Shepherd/Bethell?
The other option is to slot Bethell in the middle or lower middle-order, where he’s batted the most in his T20 career. To do that, one of Tim David or Romario Shepherd will have to make way.
Jacob Bethell hit a half-century against CSK last year•Getty Images
David struck at 203.22 in the death in IPL 2025, the fourth-highest for anyone who batted fifty balls or more and was often the difference in the back end of the innings. Shepherd has been a key player for RCB since he came on board. Last season, he smashed an unbeaten 14-ball 53 against CSK and struck at 291.66 in the season. In the final, Shepherd took the vital wicket of Shreyas Iyer, returning six wickets for the season. With RCB’s already thin bowling line-up, Shepherd remains a vital cog as an additional bowling option and a ferocious lower-order batter.
On Thursday, two days before the opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bethell had a long batting stint at the nets while David batted only at the end, facing net bowlers. That could mean nothing, but if Bethell is to be slotted in the starting XI, one would expect him to come in for David. But will RCB drop one of their most impressive resources from last season?
Play all of Salt, Bethell, David and Shepherd
This is another option RCB could explore but it will be fraught with risk. To do this, RCB will have to drop one overseas bowler. Jacob Duffy looks likely to come in for Josh Hazlewood, who is sitting out the initial leg of the season due to workload management. If RCB are to play Salt, Bethell, David and Shepherd, they will have to drop Duffy and slot in one of the Indian fast bowlers, most likely Rasikh Salam and Mangesh Yadav. Both are inexperienced at this level and with Yash Dayal also not around alongside Hazlewood, that leaves RCB’s fast bowling unit light. They have Bhuvneshwar Kumar but at a high-scoring venue, will RCB risk going with two inexperienced fast bowlers in their starting team?
Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo