England and RCB star Jacob Bethell 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 returned from the IPL if he was to make his case for the England Test team.
He’s sitting at the IPL, not doing anything – Alastair Cook
Speaking on the Stick to Cricket Podcast, Cook had said, “For that top order batting, the way he played at Sydney, against that attack, in those conditions…I’ve looked at a player there, and I’m certain this bloke can open. If he can bat three, he can open,” referring to Bethell’s Ashes century at Sydney.
Bethell continued that form with a century against India in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, but hasn’t been seen on the field since then.
“(But) it’s not ideal, is it? Bethell shouldn’t really be it because he’s not opening. He’s sitting at the IPL not doing anything. Ideally, he could come back and open for Warwickshire to help England,” Cook added.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are third on the points table with four wins in six matches, but Bethell has not found a place in the playing XII yet, with RCB preferring Phil Salt, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, and Josh Hazlewood as their four overseas players.
Speaking to the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Bethell fired back at criticism after Cook’s comments.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it. I think we’ve seen last year, for me personally, that by not playing cricket for a little while, I came into the end of that India series a bit undercooked, which was a learning for me to take on board,” he said.
Also Read: “Alastair Cook has no idea”: Kevin Pietersen strongly backs Jacob Bethell to warm bench for RCB
“Everyone ups their game subconsciously” – Jacob Bethell
Bethell talked about his experience being at the IPL with RCB, even if he hasn’t actually gotten any game time.
“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. 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. I feel like that even happens when you’re not on the starting XI or even starting XII as it might be now with the impact player,” he said.
Last year, Jacob Bethell played just two IPL matches for RCB and made one fifty. He later said that the IPL experience of walking out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium helped him deal with the pressure of playing an Ashes Test in Melbourne.
“Even the net sessions in India have pressure” – Jacob Bethell
Bethell also talked about the pressure that exists in the IPL even if the players are not getting any matches.
“You’ve got hundreds of eyes on you, albeit you either have your coaches or the other players who are also looking at you going, ‘is this guy good? Is he not?’ You got the people in the crowd with the phones on. I think you get exposed to a lot of stuff.
“You might not get the amount of time in the middle as [you do] in County Championship playing four rounds of that. But I think in terms of the ability to actually just continue doing what you want to do when there are loads of eyes on you, is really important for me personally going forward.
“Also, it’s been scheduled in now where we’ve had practice matches when we’re not playing. I know that’s not going to be the same as an actual competitive game, but we’re getting time out in the middle from that because it feels like the whole squad’s pulling together to try.
“They know it’s going to be a team effort, a squad effort to win the trophy again. And Coxsy (England international Jordan Cox) as well is not being left just to ponder about what’s happening on the sideline,” Jacob Bethell concluded.
RCB’s next match
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face the Gujarat Titans on April 24 in what will be the last league stage match that they play at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru this year.
Jacob Bethell is not necessarily expected to play a starring role, barring any injuries in that match. He has been around as a substitute fielder, but is yet to be officially carded in to the Playing XII
Two of RCB’s 7 home games will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.
