Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor Dinesh Karthik revealed why the franchise opted for Phil Salt instead of Ishan Kishan in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. He stressed that they did not want an Indian opener because They didn’t have much power.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) held a grand auction in Jeddah. They were clear-minded about who they wanted on the team and ended up picking some of the big winners on the team. It’s fair to say they were among the few teams to make it to the auction.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru bought Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Untilhara, Manoj Bhandage and Jacob Bethel for the upcoming edition .
But one thing that caught the attention of many was that Royal Challengers Bengaluru did not pick any big Indian names. They had a lot of money in their bag and were expected to go for the Indian opener, particularly Ishan Kishan, as many predicted that they would go for the former Mumbai Indians player.
We would like a foreign opener because the day they start, they can score a hundred in 60, 50 or 40 balls – Dinesh Karthik
With the team finalizing combinations, Dinesh Karthik revealed that they wanted a foreign first match. He stated that foreign players can change the game quickly, adding that players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have done the same thing time and time again. In a video shared by RCB, he explained:
“We would want a foreign first match because, the day they start, they can score a hundred off 60, 50 or 40 balls, whatever it is. Players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have done it time and time again.”
‘The power is not there’: Dinesh Karthik explains why RCB didn’t want Indian opener
Dinesh Karthik, mentioning Ishan Kishan, added that they did not want to pick the Indian opener because he does not have the power. He elaborated:
“Among Indian players, I can only think of Ishan Kishan, who has done it to a small extent. We know why we don’t want to go there (open with an Indian opener) because we don’t have the power.”
My agreement is that Phil Salt scores six to eight runs in over 28% of the time and 12 to 15 runs in over 30% of the time – Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik, while emphasizing why Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked Phil Salt, pointed out the batsman’s incredible scoring rate in the powerplay as the number suggested that he tends to score between 12 and 15 runs in 30% of the time. He explained:
“I agree that Phil Salt scores six to eight runs in more than 28% of the time and 12 to 15 runs in more than 30% of the time. In one out of every four overs, he scores 16 or more runs, and in every two overs, score 12 or more.”
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