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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor Dinesh Karthik has revealed the reasons behind picking up England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. Notably, RCB signed Salt for a whopping INR 11.5 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction.
In a video released by RCB on their social media handle, Karthik can be seen heavily involved in the team’s planning for the auction. For the opener slot, Salt was at the top of the wishlist alongside the likes of Jos Buttler, Faf du Plessis, and Will Jacks.
The 39-year-old Karthik can be seen talking about their plans for going after an opener who can score a century in 40-60 balls.
“We would want a foreign opener because, on the day they get going, they can score a hundred in 60, 50, or 40 balls, whatever it might be. Players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have done this time and time again,” Karthik said.
The former India batter also talked about the caliber of Ishan Kishan’s case and why they didn’t go his way.
“Among Indian players, I can only think of Ishan Kishan, who has done that to a small degree. We know why we don’t want to go there (open with an Indian opener) because the power is not there,” Karthik.
Explosive power was the order of the day/week/season and our Think Tank nailed the No. 1 pick – Numbers don’t lie!This is @bigbasket_com presents Bold Diaries. Big Basket Delivers Groceries… pic.twitter.com/M0PWdhCxhD
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) December 10, 2024
The RCB mentor also highlighted Phil Salt’s scoring ability in an over.
“My concurrence is that Phil Salt scores six to eight runs in an over 28% of the time and 12–15 runs in an over 30% of the time. In one out of four overs, he scores 16 or more runs, and in one out of two overs, he scores 12 or more,” said Karthik.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Full Squad For IPL 2025
Virat Kohli (Rs. 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (Rs. 11 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs. 5 crore), Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt (Rs. 11.50 crore), Jitesh Sharma (Rs. 11 crore), Josh Hazlewood (Rs. 12.50 crore), Rasikh Dar (Rs. 6 crore), Suyash Sharma (Rs. 2.60 crore), Krunal Pandya (Rs. 5.75 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs. 10.75 crore), Swapnil Singh (Rs. 50 lakh), Tim David (Rs. 3 crore), Romario Shepherd (Rs. 1.50 crore), Nuwan Thushara (Rs. 1.60 crore), Manoj Bhandage (Rs. 30 lakh), Jacob Bethell (Rs. 2.60 crore), Devdutt Padikkal (Rs. 2 crore), Swastik Chhikara (Rs. 30 lakh), Lungi Ngidi (Rs. 1 crore), Abhinandan Singh (Rs. 30 lakh), Mohit Rathee (Rs. 30 lakh).
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