Salt or Bethell! RCB Confirms Virat Kohli’s Opening Partner for IPL 2026

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is all set to start from March 28, 2026, and the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), will be playing the first game of the tournament at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It’s going to be a high-voltage game between two quality sides.

However, after days of speculation, RCB management has confirmed that Phil Salt will continue as Virat Kohli’s opening partner in the IPL 2026. Both Kohli and Salt played exceptional cricket in the IPL 2025 and scored plenty of runs as openers for RCB. But the addition of Jacob Bethell created debate around the opening pair of RCB for IPL 2026.

English star batter Jacob Bethel is known for his aggressive batting, and he played exceptional cricket in the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Bethell played an impressive knock of 105 runs at a strike rate of 218.75 in the Semi-Finals against India.

Who will open with Virat Kohli in IPL 2026?

​RCB’s director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, addressed the issue in a press conference, and he stated that Salt is one of the best T20 batters in the world and team management have full confidence in his abilities. According to Bobat, the duo of Kohli-Salt brings perfect balance to the team at the top-order and they complement each other’s style.

​In the IPL 2025, the opening duo of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) played a crucial role in the title-winning season. Virat Kohli played exceptional cricket and scored 657 runs, while Phil Salt showed great cricketing skills throughout the season and scored 403 runs at a strike rate of around 176.

RCB IPL 2026 Predicted Playing XI:

Impact Player: Mangesh Yadav

RCB Full Schedule 2026 

RCB Squad for IPL 2026

Rajat Patidar (Captain), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Bethell, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Otswal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan.

You May Like This: Who is Kal Somani? Rajasthan Royals Sold for Rs. 15,000 Crore: Biggest Deal in IPL History