Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Jacob Bethell has been picked as Birmingham Phoenix captain for the upcoming The Hundred 2026 season.
Bethell was a £340,000 pre signing for Phoenix ahead of the March 11 auction. The franchise also announced that he will replace Liam Livingstone in the team, who has moved from Phoenix to London Spirit.
Last September, Jacob Bethell became England men’s youngest captain when he led the team to a 2-0 T20I series win in Ireland while standing in for the rested Harry Brook.
Since the Ireland series, he has been serving as England vice captain. He was also the vice-captain during England white ball series in New Zealand and Sri Lanka this winter, and at the T20 World Cup 2026.
“I’m incredibly proud to be named captain of the Birmingham Phoenix. Leading this team is a huge honour, and it’s an opportunity I’m ready for, especially after the experience of captaining England last year. That responsibility taught me a lot about my own leadership and how to bring the best out of a group,” Bethell said.
Birmingham Phoenix finished fifth in the 2025 season with only three wins in eight matches. With a change in captain, they will be hoping for a better season this time. The closest they came to winning the title was in the first season, when they finished as runners up.
The Phoenix also confirmed that RCB WPL star all-rounder Ellyse Perry will continue as the women captain for the third season in a row.
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Bethell, in the T20 World Cup 2026, scored 280 runs at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 152.17. He scored a half century against Nepal and a century in the semi final against India.
In the semi final, while chasing a target of 254, RCB star batter Jacob Bethell came in at No.4 for England when the score was 38 for 2. From one end, Bethell kept England in the game till the end and scored a brilliant 105 off just 48 balls. His innings was so good that the second highest score in the innings was 35.
In the end, even though England lost the match by seven runs, they have found a superstar for the future who now has a century in all three formats of international cricket.
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