Phil Salt has opened up about his partnership with Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), revealing that the franchise was very clear about his role when they acquired him in the IPL 2025 auction.
After former captain Faf du Plessis’ departure, RCB needed a reliable opening partner for Kohli, and Salt was identified as the perfect fit. The English wicketkeeper-batter has played a pivotal role in RCB’s first two matches, adopting an aggressive approach to allow Kohli to settle into his innings. During their recent win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on Friday, the duo stitched a 45-run stand in just five overs, laying a solid foundation. Although Kohli struggled to accelerate initially, Salt took charge and executed his role effectively.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Salt emphasised that his job is to relieve pressure from the rest of the batting lineup by maximizing the powerplay. “Yeah, that’s definitely part of it. It’s been made very clear to me why I’m here at RCB and what they were looking for in the auction to partner with Virat,” added Salt.
“The dynamics of the partnership. I’m very aware of. It’s to be aggressive and to sort of take the pressure off the rest of the guys. Especially when you come somewhere like here. If you don’t take advantage of those early seam overs, then you can be left up against it when the spin comes on, and they can really take control of the game. Yeah, it was very key here and that was spoken about,” said Salt.
RCB’s victory at Chepauk was significant, marking their first win at the venue since 2008. Salt shared an amusing incident when he stumbled upon an article listing all the major events that had occurred since RCB’s last triumph in Chennai.
“Yeah, it was actually at breakfast. Some sort of an article came up on my phone, and it was all the things that have happened since RCB beat CSK here. (We had) a pretty light-hearted conversation. There wasn’t too much in it. But yeah, it’s a good win,” Salt remarked.
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Beating the defending champions at home made the victory even sweeter for RCB. Salt acknowledged the difficulty of winning in Chennai and expressed satisfaction with their position after two matches.
“To beat the champions in their home ground, and then come here, which is a very, very tough place to come and get a win, we’re really happy with the fact that we’re sitting two games, four points, obviously with a boost in the net run rate as well. But we’re very aware of how good a side CSK are, especially at home, so we’re pleased,” he added.
With two consecutive wins, RCB currently leads the points table. Their next challenge will be against Gujarat Titans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 2, where Salt and Kohli will aim to maintain their strong opening partnership.
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