RCB star Jacob Bethell has responded to the comments over his decision to play in IPL 2026 while county cricket is underway in England.
The 22 year old was advised by England great Sir Alastair Cook that he should stay in England and play domestic cricket instead of spending time on the bench in the IPL.
Since the start of IPL 2026, RCB have played six matches, but Jacob Bethell has not featured in any of them. The defending champions have been using four overseas players in the playing XI, Phil Salt, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, and Josh Hazlewood, which has made it very tough for Bethell to break into the side.
Talking about his situation, Sir Alastair Cook on stick to cricket said that Bethell is currently not getting game time in the IPL and would be better off returning to play county cricket.
Cook also suggested that playing for Warwickshire and opening the batting there could help both his development and England’s future plans.
“He’s (Bethell) sitting at the IPL not doing anything. Ideally, he could come back and open for Warwickshire to help England,” Cook said.
Jacob Bethell speaking on sky sports podcast has hit back strongly at Sir Alastair Cook’s comment about him choosing IPL 2026 over county cricket. He said he understands the opinion, but believes his decision to play in the IPL is the right step for his development at this stage of his career.
He is confident that being part of the IPL setup will help him improve faster.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it. “It’s something that not many people will understand how cool it is until actually being around a team or the tournament itself when you’re here,” Bethell said.
“It just has a completely different feel. It feels like everyone almost ups their game subconsciously without even really knowing because of the calibre of the tournament,” he added.
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Playing in the IPL has helped Jacob Bethell improve his game. In IPL 2025, he got only two matches and scored 67 runs, including a 55. But being around top players and playing in a big tournament like the IPL helped him improve his game.
After that, a few months later in September, he scored his first ODI century. Then later, he scored his first century in Test cricket during the Ashes. He also had an impressive T20 World Cup 2026, scoring 280 runs in eight innings, including a century against India in the semi final, which almost helped England win the match. He now has a century in all three formats.
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