England’s wicket-keeper bat Phil Salt is looking forward to playing with Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025. Salt was bought by RCB for INR 11.50 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Salt said he has got great respect for the former RCB captain and he is keen to share the dressing room with him. Meanwhile, Salt scored 435 runs in 12 matches of IPL 2024 at an average of 39.55 and a strike rate of 182 and thus played an instrumental role in taking KKR to glory.
Salt will most likely bat in the top order with Virat Kohli and he would look to deliver the goods for RCB.
Salt said on ESPN Cricinfo, “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Virat. I’ve always had a bit of chat with him – and a laugh and a joke – when I’ve played against him in the past, so I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.
On the other hand, the right-hander added that RCB has a very clear plan that they want to play aggressively.
“They’ve got a very clear way of playing the game which is to go out and attack. They’ve always had the fiery personalities and their batting line-ups have been world-class.”
Salt will also be reunited with RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower, who were earlier part of the ECB.
“They’re one of a few teams who, when I was watching IPL years ago, if they were playing, I’d turn the TV on. Obviously, they’ve got Andy there and Mo Bobat [as director of cricket], and I’m really looking forward to playing under them.
“Having been around them a little bit, I know that we’re quite similar thinkers on the game in some ways – and their track record speaks for itself,” he added.
RCB squad after IPL 2025 mega auction:
Batters: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara.
Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma.
All-rounders: Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell.
Fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Yash Dayal, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh.
Spinners: Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee.
