RCB vs GT: Why is Phil Salt not Playing Today? Who has Replaced Him?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are taking on the Gujarat Titans in a crucial IPL 2026 encounter on Friday (April 24) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The RCB side have made a superb start and will be aiming to go top of the points table in this encounter. RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to bowl first.

During toss, Patidar confirmed that England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt won't play any part in this match. Phil Salt picked up an injury and has been ruled out of this match.

"I just feel this will be a bowl-first pitch. And as you all know, chasing gives us a lot of clarity about the result, the score and the total. One change - Salty got injured, Bethell is in. I think one great point that I like is that we are assessing the wicket and assessing the situation pretty well this year. And of course, there's a lot of planning behind it. It's pretty obvious. Whenever you come here at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, it's a good wicket to bat on. But I think there's no grass on it, so first innings it might be a bit tacky," Patidar said at toss.

Why is Phil Salt not Playing?

Phil Salt was struggling with an injury and thus has been ruled out of the match. The England international's type of injury remains unknown for now.

Who has replaced Phil Salt in RCB Playing 11?

Jacob Bethell is the likely replacement. The southpaw remains on the bench as an impact player and may come out to bat when RCB begin their chase.

RCB Playing 11 vs GT

Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood

RCB Impact Players: Jacob Bethell/Jordan Cox/Mangesh Yadav/Vicky Ostwal/Venkatesh Iyer