Star England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt is set to join the Royal Challengers Bengaluru later this week. According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo, Salt, who returned to England last month after suffering a finger injury while fielding during RCB’s IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on May 18, will join the RCB squad later this week ahead of the IPL 2026 playoffs, which are set to start on Tuesday (May 26).
IPL 2026 | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap
However, it will be interesting to see if Salt is fit enough to feature in RCB’s last league stage match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is set to take place at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday (May 22).
Salt played as an opening batter for RCB
in their first six matches of the ongoing season and scored 202 runs with a strike rate of 168.33. He slammed half-centuries for the 2025 IPL champions against the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. In Salt’s absence, his English teammate Jacob Bethell opened the innings for RCB along with Virat Kohli, but the highly rated left-handed batter has only managed to score a total of 96 runs in seven innings of seven matches.
Salt, if fit for selection on Friday, will replace Bethell in the playing XI.
Is Rajat Patidar fit to play?
Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar is the captain of RCB in the IPL. But he missed the team’s last league match against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday (May 17) due to an injury that he suffered while batting against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur last week. In Patidar’s absence, Jitesh Sharma led RCB against RCB and helped them secure a win by 23 runs.
RCB have already qualified for the playoffs, and they would like to get the better of SRH on Friday to guarantee themselves a top two finish in the IPL 2026 points table. Patidar, who led RCB to their maiden IPL title last year (in 2025), in all likelihood will be fit to take part in the match vs SRH.
