Former England captain raises eyebrows with 'breakfast with Virat' comment on Jacob Bethell

Former England captain Mike Atherton said Jacob Bethell should have played the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge being a centrally-contracted player even though he was learning a lot by “having breakfast with Virat Kohli” in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Atherton also slammed former England captain and teammate Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports for his views on the IPL, with the latter stating that Bethell was learning from being around Indian batting legend Kohli even if he wasn’t getting much game time.

“I wanted him to return from India for the Test match against Zimbabwe as he is a centrally contracted player. It was important to bring him back from the IPL,” Atherton said.

More from First Cricket

Former New Zealand coach who defeated India in WTC final appointed Andhra Pradesh head coach for Ranji Trophy Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh by six wickets to record commanding win in Asia Cup 2025

“You have a lot of followers in India, and you would argue in favour of the IPL. You would say that he was learning a lot from Virat Kohli. He was having breakfast with Virat. But it is important for the centrally contracted players to play,” he added.

Zimbabwe crumbled to an innings and 45-run defeat against the Ben Stokes-led hosts in their first Test on English soil in 22 years. England’s Ollie Pope (171), Ben Duckett (140) and Zak Crawley (124) and Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett (139) slammed centuries at Trent Bridge while English off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was the standout bowler with a match haul of 9/143 (3/62 and 6/81).

The Zimbabwe Test got the Test summer underway in England, which will be followed by a marquee five-Test series against India starting 20 June in Headingley. And Atherton and Bethell were discussing Bethell’s prospects of getting picked for the India Tests when the former made the point regarding him playing his first home Test against Zimbabwe.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Bethell signs off from maiden IPL season with just two appearances

Batting all-rounder Bethell, who had been acquired by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 2.60 crore in the mega auction in November, was among the overseas players returning to India for the remaining matches of the 18th IPL season. This was after the IPL, as well as the Pakistan Super League, was put on hold due to a military standoff between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.

Though Bethell did get to make his debut this season, opening alongside Kohli against Delhi Capitals (27 April) and Chennai Super Kings (3 May), he did not make an appearance since the season restarted on 17 May with RCB's home game against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy getting washed out .

Bethell, after all, had filled in for compatriot Phil Salt as Kohli’s opening partner against DC and CSK. And while Salt remains part of the RCB camp, steering them into the final with an unbeaten 56 against Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur on Thursday, Bethell has since returned home for the ODI series against West Indies that got underway on the very same day.

After scoring 67 runs in two games for the Royal Challengers, including 55 in their thrilling two-run victory over CSK , the Barbadian-born Bethell starred in England’s 238-run victory over West Indies in the first ODI – top-scoring for the hosts with a 53-ball 82 before collecting 1/18 inside three overs. The Harry Brook-led home team posted 400/8 after getting invited to bat before bundling the Shai Hope-led visitors out for just 162 in reply.