England wicketkeeper-batsman Phil Salt was injured in the match against Delhi Capitals on 18 April.

Despite Salt’s absence, RCB performed brilliantly and qualified for the playoffs. The team is now almost in a position to make it to Qualifier-1. However, the team management does not want to take any risk just before the playoffs. In such a situation, the final decision has not yet been taken on whether Salt will play in the league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday or not.

In the last few matches, Jacob Bethel took the responsibility of opening with Virat Kohli in place of Phil Salt, but he could not leave much impact. Bethel scored just 96 runs in seven innings and his highest score was 27. In such a situation, the team is expected to get an aggressive start again with the return of Salt.

Interestingly, in the match played against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala, Venkatesh Iyer played a brilliant unbeaten inning of 73 runs. He made this innings while playing in place of captain Rajat Patidar. Patidar was hit on the helmet by fast bowler Karthik Tyagi’s bouncer in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, after which he did not go to Dharamshala.

However, stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma told after the match that Rajat Patidar is getting fit rapidly and can make a comeback in the match against Hyderabad. In such a situation, RCB may face an interesting selection situation regarding the playing eleven. Now all eyes are on how soon Phil Salt becomes match fit before the playoffs, because his presence can further strengthen RCB’s dream of winning the title.