England all rounder Jacob Bethell recently revealed that he’s eagerly looking forward to meet star India batter Virat Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after being bought by the franchise at the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) auction. Notably, three teams had showed interest in signing Bethell namely Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) as he came into the auction with a base price of INR 1.25 crore.
However, it was RCB who placed the winning bid of INR 2.60 crore to acquire the services of the upcoming England star. Recently, the 21-year-old opened up on his signing by one of IPL’s top franchises and said that he’s really looking forward to meet Virat Kohli calling him the ‘king’.
“It’s a bit of a given, isn’t it? Virat! He’s a great of the game so… King Kohli. Any kind of overseas player that’s gone over there has come back with a wealth of experience,” Bethell said on ESPNCricinfo.
Bethell recently made his Test debut against New Zealand and scored an unbeaten quickfire half century off 37 balls helping England chase down the target of 104 in just 12.4 overs. The 21-year-old registered the second-highest strike rate with a 50-plus score on Test debut of 135.13 as he smashed eight fours and a six during his knock.
Bethell’s international career so far
Courtesy of his innings, England managed to complete the quickest chase of over 100 runs in the fourth innings. Apart from his solitary Test, Bethell has also played seven T20Is and scored 173 runs at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 167.96 with two half centuries. Apart from that, the southpaw has also played eight ODIs and scored 167 runs at an average of 27.23 and a strike rate of 80.28 with a solitary half century.
Hence, Bethell will be seen adding firepower to RCB’s batting line up with his fearless strokeplay in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, apart from him, RCB also bought English stars Philip Salt (11.50 crore) and Liam Livingstone (8.75 crore).
