IPL 2025: England's Jacob Bethell thrilled to team up with Virat Kohli at RCB

New Delhi [India]: England's rising talent Jacob Bethell is eager to share the field with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Indian cricket icon Virat Kohli in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2025 season.

Bethell became RCB's latest acquisition in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction for ₹2.6 crore. The 21-year-old attracted bids from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings but both franchises failed to overcome RCB's resolve.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

Bethell will link up with his England teammates Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone at RCB but it is Virat he is most excited to rub shoulders with.

"It's a bit of a given, isn't it? "Virat! He's a great of the game so... King Kohli," Bethell said, with a wry smile, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

The cash-rich league has been a platform for budding talents to absorb the experience and implement it in taking their game to new heights. Even Bethell is looking to go into the IPL and walk away with a "wealth of experience."

"Any kind of overseas player that's gone over there has come back with a wealth of experience," he added.

Bethell was used at the number three spot instead of Ollie Pope, who regularly features in the top of the batting order for England in the opening Test against New Zealand.

As a result, Pope, who was put in charge of keeping the wicket, was downgraded to the number six spot. After his innings-saving 77 on Day 2, Pope informed about his plans to make the number three spot his own.

But Bethell hopes to have a chance to continue in the number three spot as his game perfectly suits the demands of the position.

"I like batting up the order so, yeah, I was really happy that opportunity arose. I've always wanted to bat in the top four so three is perfect," he said.

"I think my game is fit to play any style. On Sunday we saw a bit more of an attacking style. I can also absorb a bit of pressure, so I'm sure at times in my career there will be times to do that as well," he added.

In his debut Test for England, Bethell fell flat in the first innings after managing just 10 from 34 deliveries. He battled hard for survival on the field but it was up to no avail.

His struggles eventually ended after he nicked the ball away to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell off Nathan Smith. In the second innings, he looked more assured of himself and fired an unbeaten 50 in just 37 balls which took England to a comfortable 8-wicket success over New Zealand.

"That's part of the game, isn't it? I saw it [as] if I got through to lunch, it looked like a different pitch after lunch. It does help when you've got Harry Brook batting, he makes it look quite easy," Bethell said about his outing in the first innings.

"I think it could have been a different story, I battled hard and unluckily didn't make it through to lunch but another day you get through and go on to make a big one," he added.

With England, 1-0 up in the series, securing the three-Test affair would certainly be something that they would eye in the second match, beginning on December 6 in Wellington.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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