Jacob Bethell claims Virat Kohli is the only reason for his stunning rise

The 21-year-old England National Cricket Team batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell has once again publicly attributed his career breakthrough to Virat Kohli.

Jacob Bethell said that playing with the India National Cricket Team batting great Virat Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was a great experience for him and it made him overall a better player.

Jacob Bethell at RCB in numbers

The England National Cricket Team all-round sensation Jacob Bethell was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise at the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction for Rs 2.60 crore in Jeddah.

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He was mainly kept as a backup player in the squad as RCB had four overseas players zeroed in on in the playing XI. However, an illness to the English opening batsman Phil Salt opened the doors for Bethell to be slotted into the RCB XI.

The 21-year-old made his IPL debut for RCB against Delhi Capitals, replacing Phil Salt as an opener, and scored 12 runs in the match. He took his performance one notch higher in the next match while opening the innings with Virat Kohli, and slammed a blazing fifty against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

He smashed 55 runs in the match against the 5-time champions and built a 97-run opening stand in 59 balls. Bethell then missed the playoffs stage of the IPL 2025 because he was called back to England for the white-ball series against West Indies, where he displayed a brilliant performance in all the matches, contributing both with bat and ball.

Virat Kohli was unbelievable in helping me out: Bethell

During an interaction on Sky Cricket, Mark Butcher asked Jacob Bethell about his experience of playing with Kohli. "Talking about players who are a little bit closer to your age, what about some of those that you've just recently had some experience with? I remember talking to you about the time you spent with Virat Kohli at RCB. How have the senior players around you, including the likes of Virat, sort of been a help to you in terms of your rise and your steady improvement?" asked the former England player.

Replying to this, Jacob Bethell said that Kohli was unbelievable in helping him out, and just watching the RCB legend's gameplay made him a better player. He said:

“It’s been great. [Virat] was unbelievable with helping me out, and even just the things he didn’t say to me personally, but just watching how he goes about training and how he approaches things.”

That was unbelievable to watch and unbelievable to see first hand: Jacob Bethell

Bethell further said that one of the notable things he learnt while observing Kohli was how he set the template of his innings while chasing.

"Especially like chasing in a T20 game. That was unbelievable to watch and unbelievable to see first hand, just how easily he is able to shift up and down the gears and is able to template an innings depending on what things needed,” he added.

Jacob Bethell also said that spending time with Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, and others inthe England dressing room has been quite helpful for him. He stated:

"And then yeah, going on to other players in this England dressing room, Brookie, Ducky, they've been great in just talking, batting. You talk a lot, obviously you spend a lot of time together, so to learn from those guys who've played a lot of cricket, it's been great."

Also Read: Diageo drops bomb, issues official statement on RCB's sale after Bengaluru stampede

"He was unbelievable with helping me out" 🤝

Jacob Bethelll speaks about how Virat Kohli at RCB and senior players in the England side have helped him ✨ pic.twitter.com/w7newSLUOa

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 10, 2025