Phil Salt set to join RCB ahead of qualifiers:RCB receive major boost for playoffs with their in-form opener

Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Phil Salt is returning to India this week after a finger injury. He sustained the injury while fielding during the match against the Delhi Capitals on April 18. Salt had an injury to his left-hand finger. Following this, he returned to his home country, England, for treatment. Jacob Bethell opened for RCB in Salt’s absence In Salt’s absence, Jacob Bethell opened with Virat Kohli. However, Bethell’s performance was poor. He could only score 96 runs in 7 innings, with 27 runs being his best. Despite this, Bethell might play RCB’s last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 22. Salt was in excellent form before the injury After a disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup, Salt had returned to form in the IPL. He had scored 202 runs in 6 innings this season at a strike rate of 168.33. He also played a crucial role in the team’s title win last season, scoring 403 runs in 2025 at a strike rate of 175.98. RCB became the first team this year to seal their playoff berth RCB has secured a spot in the playoffs. The team secured a place in the top-4 by defeating the Punjab Kings by 23 runs on May 17. If there is no major upset in the net run rate, the team will play Qualifier-1 in Dharamshala on May 26. Regular captain Rajat Patidar will be available for the match against Hyderabad. He suffered a helmet injury in the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders last week. After this, he did not play the next match. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma captained in his place.