The Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Jacob Bethell addressed the debate between Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook, whether it was better to play county cricket. He was benched in the first half of the season and there were no surprises about it as RCB are the defending champions and they wouldn’t want to disturb the balance. At that point of time, Alastair Cook stated that it was better for him to play county cricket rather than warming the bench in the IPL. Kevin Pietersen came in defence of the young Englishman as he stated that Cook knows nothing about the IPL and he asked Bethell to stay where he was.

“This is the marquee tournament of the year, with some of the best cricketers in the world playing in it. Everyone thinks differently, but from a personal point of view, I think I’ve made the right decision,” said Jacob Bethell regarding the IPL vs County cricket debate. Playing in the IPL is a privilege for most of the cricketers in the world and to share the dressing room with superstars like Virat Kohli, could be a valuable experience for a youngster.

Young England star defends his RCB stint despite inconsistent form

“I definitely don’t think it’s going to hurt my career or stop me from getting better. I think it’s going to do the opposite. Everyone’s allowed to think what they want. That's absolutely fine. Everyone thinks differently, but from a personal point of view, I think I've made the right decision. At the end of the day, I'm pretty happy with where I am," added Jacob Bethell

Jacob Bethell has proved his talent at the international stage in the ICC World Cup when he scored a fighting century against India. He is considered as the next all-format superstar for England as he has all the shots in the book and he is a gun fielder as well. RCB made the right choice in the auction to go for a player like him and that has given the squad a lot of depth. He will also feel like he will gain a lot of experience from being a part of a champion side and the presence of Dinesh Karthik will be key as well.

“I never really feel like I'm fighting for a spot. At the end of the day, I haven't scored the runs I've wanted to. And that's not helped the team. My aim as a batter is to go out there and score runs and get us off to a good start, and I haven't done that,” said Jacob Bethell on his spot in the RCB squad.

The English starboy hasn’t really clicked for RCB as he hasn’t been able to fill the void of Phil Salt in the opening slot. He has got a couple of decent starts in the season but more is expected from a talent like Jacob Bethell. Today he would most likely get a chance against the Mumbai Indians and he will be hoping that he can make an impact with the bat after a string of low scores.