England and RCB star Jacob Bethel has responded to criticism that he should have returned from the IPL to play county cricket for Warwickshire.
Former England captain Alastair Cook had suggested that Bethell should have withdrawn from the IPL if he was to stake his claim for the England Test team.
He is sitting in the IPL, doing nothing – Alastair Cook
Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Cook said, “For that top-order batting, the way he played in Sydney, against that attack, in those conditions… I’ve seen a player there, and I’m sure this guy can open. If he can bat three times, he can open,” referring to Bethell’s Ashes century in Sydney.
Bethel continued that form and scored a century against India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, but has not been seen on the field since.
“(But) that’s not ideal, right? Bethel really shouldn’t be doing that because he’s not opening. He’s sitting in the IPL and not doing anything. Ideally, he can come back and open for Warwickshire to help England,” Cook said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are third on the points table with four wins from six matches, but Bethel is yet to find a place in the playing XI, with RCB opting for Phil Salt, Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Josh Hazlewood as their four overseas players.
Speaking to the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Bethel hit back at the criticism following Cook’s comments.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it. I think we saw last year, for me personally, not playing cricket for a while, I was a little bit weak at the end of that India series, which was a learning for me to take on board,” he said.
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“Everyone subconsciously raises their game” – Jacob Bethel
Bethel talked about his experience in the IPL with RCB, even though he didn’t actually get any game time.
“It’s something that a lot of people don’t understand how good it is until they’re actually around a team or a tournament when you’re here. It’s a completely different experience. It feels like everyone raises their game almost without really realizing it because of the caliber of the tournament. I feel like that happens even if you’re not in the starting XI or even the starting XII as much as it can be with an impact player now,” he said.
Last year, Jacob Bethel played just two IPL matches for RCB and scored one half-century. He later said that the IPL experience of visiting the M Chinnaswamy Stadium helped him deal with the pressure of playing the Ashes Test in Melbourne.
“Even in India there is pressure on a net session” – Jacob Bethel
Bethel also talked about the pressure that remains in the IPL, even if players are not getting any matches.
“You’ve got hundreds of eyes on you, whether it’s your coaches or even other players looking at you, going, ‘Is this guy good? Isn’t he?’ You made people in the crowd turn on their phones. I think you’re exposed to a lot of things.
“You may not get that much time in between [you do] He is playing four rounds in the County Championship. But I think that’s really important for me personally, in terms of the ability to keep doing what you want to do when there are so many eyes on you.
“Also, it’s been scheduled now where we have practice matches when we’re not playing. I know it won’t be the same as actual competitive play, but we’re getting time in between because it feels like the whole team is coming together to put in the effort.
Jacob Bethell concluded, “They know it will be a team effort, a team effort to win the trophy again. And Coxsey (England international Jordan Cox) is also not being left to just think about what’s happening on the sidelines.”
rcb next match
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Gujarat Titans on April 24, in what will be the last league stage match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru this year.
Barring any injuries in that match, Jacob Bethel is not expected to play a significant role. He has been present as a substitute fielder, but has not yet been included in the official playing XI.
Of the 7 home matches of RCB, two will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.