England Youngster Predicted To Have ‘Long Career’ After Impressive Knock vs West Indies Post Fruitful IPL 2025 Stint With RCB

Sreejita Sen

Last updated: May 30, 2025

4 min read

He was adjudged with the Player of the Match award for his blistering 82-run knock off 53 balls and scalping one wicket.

England thrashed the West Indies by a huge margin of 238 runs in the first ODI of the three-match home series. Youngster Jacob Bethell was adjudged with the Player of the Match award for his blistering 82-run knock off 53 balls and scalping one wicket.

The 21-year-old has made the most of his limited chances after entering the International circuit. Since his ODI debut against Australia in September 2024, the all-rounder has scored 300 runs including three half-centuries, at a strike rate of 92.30, and bagged six wickets as well.

Jacob Bethell for RCB in IPL 2025

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spent INR 2.6 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 player auction to acquire the English prodigy. Bethell also put up an impressive performance for the Bengaluru outfit in the second match of his debut IPL season.

The southpaw replaced his fellow England teammate Phil Salt in RCB’s playing XI for just two matches after the latter missed those clashes due to illness. However, he grabbed the opportunity to open the RCB innings with Indian stalwart Virat Kohli and notched up a fiery 33-ball-55 at a strike rate of 166.66 against the Chennai Super Kings in their home fixture.

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Bethell has also credited the former RCB captain Virat for the invaluable inputs in his game after the POTM performance against West Indies. The 21-year-old believes that the guidance has helped him immensely to better his game in this short period of time.

“I feel I’ve become a better player now than I was two months ago when I went to India. So yeah, Virat was great with the kind of information and how he goes about batting. All I had to do is ask,” said Bethell after receiving the POTM award in the first ENG vs WI ODI.

England Skipper Hails Bethell for His Match-winning Knock

The newly appointed England skipper, Harry Brook, has applauded the youngster for his “match-winning innings” last night. He emphasised how Bethell contributes to the team with his all-round abilities. According to Brook, the prodigy could become one of the English greats by continuing to produce such top-notch performances throughout his career.

“When one of us gets going, most of the time it’s hard to stop us and he showed that. He couldn’t go on and get three figures but it was a match-winning innings and he’s going to be some player. He’s a confident lad, I don’t think he needs too much more bigging up, he knows he’s a good player and we all know he’s an exceptional player. He’s going to have a very long England career if he keeps on batting the way he does. He brings so much to a side. He can bowl and field as well,” stated the new limited overs captain of England.

Apart from the 50-over format, Bethell is also a promising talent in the T20s and Tests. Though the recent T20I series in India in February 2025 hasn’t gone his way, the southpaw has scored 196 runs in nine innings, including two half-centuries. His highest T20I knock of 62 not out came in the West Indies in November 2024.

He has also notched up 260 runs in his Test debut during England’s three-match tour of New Zealand in November-December 2024. Bethell has scored three half-centuries and scalped as many wickets in his initial six innings in the red-ball format.

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