 "Phil Salt talks to Dinesh Karthik during RCB practice session. X/RCBTweets")
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper batter Phil Salt appeared to take a jibe at the under-fire England management as he showered praise on the franchise’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik.
England’s management under head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key has been facing heavy criticism as some out-of-favour players have called the duo out for its lack of communication.
In that context, Salt’s recent praise for Karthik can be seen as another dig for the English cricket’s top brass.
Salt on English cricket’s wounds
RCB recently uploaded a video of their batting coach explaining his methods of coaching and mentoring the players in detail. The original video had a part where Salt seemed to be firing shots at the English management.
“This is the best bit of coaching I’ve had in a long time. I appreciate that you care, DK. There is no sarcasm in this,” said Salt showering praise over Karthik.
The two shook hands and Karthik replied that it is part of his job.
“Not really. Not like that,” Salt told Karthik in a part of the video that has been edited out now.
This conversation went viral on social media with many seeing it as a jibe at the coaching staff of England cricket. In another bit of the video, Salt is seen further praising Karthik.
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View All“DK, the mastermind, is very detailed, very good. Getting all the information from Freddie (Wilde) and the coaching staff and putting it into something that is very easy to take on to the pitch, that’s probably his biggest strength,” said Salt.
While RCB won their opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026, Salt did not have the best of starts. The England opener fell early in the powerplay for 8 off 7 deliveries. However, his wicket did not matter much as RCB chased down a 202-run target with 26 balls still remaining in their innings.