Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor Dinesh Karthik revealed why the franchise opted for Phil Salt over Ishan Kishan in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. He stressed that they didn’t want an Indian opener because they didn’t have much power.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a great auction in Jeddah. They had clear minds as to who they wanted in the team and ended up picking some of the big match-winners in the team. It’s fair to say that they were among the few teams who nailed 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 Thushara, Manoj Bhandage and Jacob Bethel for the next edition.
But one thing that caught the attention of many was the Royal Challengers Bengaluru didn’t go for any big Indian name. They had a lot of money in their purse, and it was expected that they would go for the Indian opener, in particular Ishan Kishan, as many predicted them to pick the former Mumbai Indians player.
We would want a foreign opener because, on the day they get going, they can score a hundred in 60, 50, or 40 balls – Dinesh Karthik
With the team now finalising combinations, Dinesh Karthik revealed that they wanted a foreign opener. He claimed that overseas players can turn the game quickly, adding that players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have done the same again and again. Speaking in a video shared by RCB, he explained:
“We would want a foreign opener because, on the day they get going, they can score a hundred in 60, 50, or 40 balls, whatever it might be. Players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have done this time and time again.”
“The power is not there”- Dinesh Karthik on why RCB didn’t want Indian opener
Dinesh Karthik, while mentioning Ishan Kishan, added that they didn’t want to go with the Indian opener because he doesn’t have the power. He elaborated:
“Among Indian players, I can only think of Ishan Kishan, who has done that to a small degree. We know why we don’t want to go there (open with an Indian opener) because the power is not there.”
My concurrence is that Phil Salt scores six to eight runs in an over 28% of the time and 12–15 runs in an over 30% of the time – Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik, while stressing why Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked Phil Salt, pointed out the incredible scoring rate of the batter in the powerplay as the number suggested that he tends to hit 12–15 runs over 30% of the time. He explained:
“My concurrence is that Phil Salt scores six to eight runs in an over 28% of the time and 12–15 runs in an over 30% of the time. In one out of four overs, he scores 16 or more runs, and in one out of two overs, he scores 12 or more.”
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