Salt flies home for finger scans as RCB hope to have him back for the playoffs
Phil Salt has flown back to England for scans on the finger he hurt diving at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18, leaving Royal Challengers Bengaluru without their first-choice opener for the closing stretch of IPL 2026.
The 29-year-old has missed RCB's last three games and the franchise has now confirmed he is in the United Kingdom undergoing further assessment, with both club and player still hopeful of a return to India later this month.
How the injury happened
Salt damaged a finger on his left hand while diving at deep backward square leg in the sixth over of the second innings of RCB's home defeat to Delhi Capitals on April 18. The boundary was saved, but his hand was not, and he has not played since.
RCB initially listed him on a match-by-match watch, hoping the swelling would settle quickly. When it did not, the decision was made to fly him home for further assessment.
A blow at the wrong moment
Salt has been one of the signings of the season for Bengaluru. He scored 202 runs in his six innings at a strike rate of 168.33, with a 78 off 36 balls against Mumbai Indians that earned him player of the match. That early form has been part of why RCB sit second in the IPL 2026 table behind Punjab Kings as the league stage winds down.
Losing a top-order striker who can take the powerplay apart is rarely a small problem, and the timing, with the playoff race tightening week by week, makes it harder for Bengaluru to absorb.
Bethell holding the spot for now
Jacob Bethell, Salt's England team-mate, has stepped into the opening slot alongside Virat Kohli in his absence. The 22-year-old has 39 runs in three innings since taking the spot, a fair distance from the platform Salt was building, and RCB will hope the rest of the order can keep covering for that gap until the original pairing is back.
The franchise has not gone to the market for a replacement and is leaning on Bethell to hold the slot until Salt's scans tell them where they actually stand. If the news from England is good, RCB are looking at getting their opener back in time for the playoffs. If it is not, defending the title they won last season starts to look like a different kind of project.
Cricket Updates
