RCB's Jacob Bethell Advised To Leave IPL And Play County Cricket

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook has suggested that young batter Jacob Bethell should think about leaving Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing IPL and return to England to play county cricket for Warwickshire. He feels the youngster is not getting enough game time in India and is losing valuable match practice.

Bethell's performance in T20 World Cup 2026

Bethell flexed his form in the T20 World Cup 2026, where he played a brilliant innings in the semi-final against India. He scored a fast century off just 45 balls, which became the second-fastest hundred in the tournament’s history.

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Bethell yet to feature in IPL 2026

However, despite that performance, Bethell has not yet played a single match for RCB this IPL season. The team’s overseas spots are currently filled with players like Phil Salt, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, and Josh Hazlewood, leaving him out of the playing XI.

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Why Bethell should feature in the County?

Cook believes Bethell has shown enough talent to open the batting for England and that he would benefit more from regular cricket at home. He feels playing county cricket for Warwickshire would help him develop further rather than sitting on the bench in the IPL.

“For that top order batting, the way he played at Sydney, against that attack, in those conditions…I’ve looked at a player there, and I’m certain this bloke can open. If he can bat three, he can open," Cook said on The Overlap and Betfair’s Stick to Cricket podcast.

“(But) it’s not ideal, is it? Bethell shouldn’t really be it because he’s not opening. He’s sitting at the IPL not doing anything. Ideally, he could come back and open for Warwickshire to help England,” he added.

Earlier, England opener Ben Duckett had also chosen to skip his IPL contract with Delhi Capitals (DC) to focus on county cricket and work on his Test career.