- By Sunny Daud
- Fri, 22 May 2026 10:23 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has joined Alastair Cook in saying that Jacob Bethell should leave the Royal Challengers Bengaluru camp and return to England if he is not certain to play the remaining IPL 2026 matches.
Why does Bethell advise travelling back to England?
Vaughan made the comments after Bethell missed RCB’s playing XI for Friday’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB captain Rajat Patidar said Bethell had a finger injury, while Venkatesh Iyer opened alongside Virat Kohli despite Phil Salt returning to the squad. With several opening options available, Bethell now looks to be lower in the pecking order.
“If Jacob Bethel’s injured, he should be on the next plane home to England," Vaughan told Cricbuzz. “England plays a Test match on June 4th, making sure that you know, England has a look at him before potentially, to see if he is fit or not going to be fit for the Test match against New Zealand. I would think he’s better off back in the UK, just getting assessed," he added.
Bethell batted in seven innings this season, scoring 96 runs at an average of 13.71 and a strike rate of 124.67.
“I’m being a bit old school, I guess they’ll say he’s got to stay till the end, but if he’s not going to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore, England have got a training camp this next week. He should be back home in the UK. You know I’m a big believer in the IPL. If you’re going to play, it grows your game massively. And obviously, when you’re a young player in the dressing room with lights, I completely get it. But at this stage, last year he did it, so he learned a lot last year. This year, he’s done it, he’s played a little bit, and not had a huge amount of success. But if he is injured, England has a training camp this week. Baz McCullum arrives in the UK on Sunday morning. I think the training camp starts Monday. He should be back in the UK with the team," Vaughan said.
When Zaheer Khan, who was also part of the discussion, suggested that Bethell may not want to take a pay cut by leaving early, Vaughan replied, “He’s been here enough. He can miss a week!"