 "Jacob Bethell was retained by RCB for IPL 2026. Reuters")
Jacob Bethell was under pressure when he strode out to bat in the 10th over on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test. England had just lost two quick wickets and they still needed over 100 runs to win their first Test in Australia in almost 15 years.
The 22-year-old was also under pressure because he had not scored much in his last three Test innings. He fell for single-digit scores in both the innings in the famous Test match at the Oval where India earned their narrowest victory in the format . The left-hander, drafted in at number three for the fourth Ashes Test, could only manage one run in the first innings. All three failures came when the team was under pressure.
However, before critics could raise their voice, the youngster slammed a brisk 40 in the second innings to set up England’s victory , which was their first after 18 Tests in Australia.
IPL stint helped Bethell deal with pressure
With only a small innings of 40, Bethell showed that he was made for big things and that he could thrive under pressure. He gave credit to his stint with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Indian Premier League (IPL) for shaking away his nervousness in front of a sold out Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“I was pretty nervous. Not so much with the people, just the occasion, I guess. But I’ve played over in India where it feels like there’s 160,000 people watching. This atmosphere was incredible and it was nice to get a win and contribute," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“The IPL, I only played two games but every game and every occasion… Definitely, just knowing what I’m able to get out of myself when the situation is like that and when the atmosphere is like that. I definitely had a lot more confidence coming into this game after playing in front of, I don’t know, 50,000 – which felt like 100,000 – at the Chinnaswamy," the RCB star added.
Bethell was signed by RCB in the auction ahead of the 2025 IPL as a back-up option. He got the chance to play in two games and scored 55 off 33 in his second outing which was at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He has been retained by the Bengaluru side for the next season.