Phil Salt returns home for scans after being sidelined with injured finger

Phil Salt has returned to the UK to undergo scans on the finger injury that has kept him out of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team's last three matches at the IPL 2026. As a result of the update, Jacob Bethell will likely play more games at the top of the order. It has learned that Salt damaged a finger on his left hand while diving to save a boundary at deep backward square leg in the sixth over of the second innings during their defeat on April 18 at home to Delhi Capitals (DC). RCB have not publicly disclosed the nature of Salt's injury. He had made a strong start to the season, striking out 168.33 batters in six innings and scoring 202 runs. Since being sidelined, Salt, who is centrally contracted by the ECB, has returned to spend time with his family and had scans done on his finger. Salt hopes to return to India this month, aiming to defend the title they won for the first time last season, and both the player and the franchise continue to have faith that the injury will heal quickly enough. After starting the season on the bench, Bethell, his international teammate, has been able to open the batting alongside Virat Kohli due to Salt's absence. Despite the fact that Bethell has not yet had a significant impact (he has allowed 39 runs in three innings), he appears to be set for additional opportunities at the top of the order with Jordan Cox, an additional Englishman, available as a replacement batter. Under IPL rules, RCB could sign a replacement for Salt if the injury is deemed season-ending; however, they are expected to give him every chance to recover. He will find it frustrating that Salt's injury happened so quickly. He had rediscovered his best form at the IPL after a poor T20 World Cup with England, and he had previously spoken highly of the team environment at RCB under Mo Bobat (director of cricket), Andy Flower (head coach), and Dinesh Karthik (batting coach/mentor). Following their loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) on Thursday in Ahmedabad, RCB now have six days between games. Following that defeat, several players traveled to the Maldives for a mid-season break before their Thursday night match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).