RCB has said that the signing of England opener Phil Salt is due to the fact that he is explosive and can take anyone in the powerplay. Salt came in at Rs 2 crore. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru were jagged in a fierce bidding war with MI, with costs running really fast. MI decided to drop out from the race, and then KKR came in. The bid was raised to Rs 8 crore by RCB and KKR came right at it with Rs 8.25 crore. The bidding hit Rs 9 crore and finally zipped past Rs 10 crore.
After some thought, both tables pondered on their next move, and RCB finally sealed the deal with Rs 11.5 crore.
Speaking on behalf of an RCB statement, Dinesh said, “Phil Salt, what else do I say? He is explosive. He is someone who can take on in the power play. Mindset is brilliant. Good fellow to have in the team. Everything about him shouts that he is the person that RCB would love to have.
He has scored a total of 1,106 runs in 38 T20Is for England, averaging 36.86 with a strike rate of 165.32, with a tally of three centuries and four half-century marks. He has 6,517 runs in 268 T20s at over 155 scores with 51 fifties, along with three tons, including 435 runs in 12 matches last season and four half-centuries scored at a strike rate of 182.00.
He added, speaking about acquiring Indian wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, “He is a very explosive middle -order batsman. We wanted someone who is on the fringes of the Indian team and he is right there. We have seen what he can do in the IPL. Has got areas that he can hit and RCB being a ground where you can play spin well, he comes as a very, very good option.”
On keeping wicket (Jitesh or Phil), Kartik said, “That is a decision closer to the tournament I think. That is also a discussion that has to be taken into account in terms of who is the better fielder, who is the better wicketkeeper, and come up with the right option.”
Jitesh, who played 9 T20 Internationals for India, has scored 100 runs with the best of 35. For Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 40 matches from 2022, he made 730 runs with an average of 22.81, and a strike rate of over 151.14 with a best score of 49*.
The mega auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is set to take place from Sunday to Monday, and is already being hailed as the most interesting event in the cricket calendar this time, where international stars have entered the auction, records are broken, and some surprises may occur in the crossovers.
