Phil Salt set to return to IPL later this week

Phil Salt is set to return to India later this week after a month sidelined from the IPL with a finger injury Salt, the England and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener, damaged a finger on his left hand while diving to save a boundary during a defeat to Delhi Capitals on April 18. He has not featured since and flew home last month to spend time with his young family while his finger healed. In his absence, RCB have secured qualification for the playoffs and are highly likely to reach Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala next Tuesday barring a substantial Net Run Rate swing. It remains to be seen if Salt will be available to play in RCB's final league-stage match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, but they are unlikely to take any risks so close to the playoffs. Salt's international team-mate Jacob Bethell has deputised as Virat Kohli's opening partner over the past month but has struggled to make an impact, scoring 96 runs in seven innings with a top score of 27. Bethell's place may come under pressure even if Salt is unavailable on Friday, after Venkatesh Iyer made 73 not out in their win over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday. Iyer was playing in place of Rajat Patidar, RCB's captain, who did not travel to Dharamsala after he was struck on the helmet by a sharp bouncer from Kolkata Knight Riders' Kartik Tyagi last week. Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma said after RCB's victory that Patidar was "doing really well" and that he would return for Friday's match in Hyderabad, creating a potential selection dilemma.