Star RCB batter, who recently recovered from injury, likely to miss IPL 2025 playoffs: Reports

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt will reportedly miss the IPL 2025 playoffs despite recovering from a fever. The 28-year-old is expecting the birth of his first child and could fly back to be with his family.

Salt, who was acquired in the auction for ₹11.5 crore, has been a vital cog in RCB's impressive run this season. Before the league's week-long break, he played nine games, scoring 239 runs at a strike rate of 168.3. He has also scored two half-centuries while opening the innings, with his season best of 65 (33) against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) fetching him the 'Player of the Match' award.

Salt was down with fever and had to miss matches against the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with Jacob Bethell replacing him. He has fully recovered and is ready to start. However, according to an ESPNcricinfo video, Salt may return home for the birth of his child.

How has the season panned out for RCB?

2025 IPL - Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Chennai Super Kings - Source: Getty

RCB have come close to winning the league on three occasions but have never been able to get their hands on the coveted trophy. This season, they are again in contention to aim for the prize as they have managed to qualify for the playoffs. They are currently second in the table with 17 points in 12 games.

The franchise would know that merely qualifying will not be enough and that they need to secure a top-two finish in the table. For that, they will have to win both their remaining games against the SunRisers Hyderabad (today, May 23) and against the Lucknow Super Giants (May 27), which will be played at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow.

About the author

Lavil is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda with an experience of over 4 years. He A Bachelor’s of Engineering degree holder in Electronics and Computer Science, he is a firm believer of verifying information from multiple websites, and always checks his sources' authenticity in order to provide his readers the most accurate information.

An ardent Team India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru fan, Lavil had his first tryst with cricket during his childhood and has grown up admiring how the sport brings people together over the years. He is a huge admirer of Mahendra Singh Dhoni due to the player's calm and collected nature. He would like to go back in time and revisit the 2011 ICC World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka if ever got his hands on a time machine.

Lavil, who used to play cricket at school level, has interviewed sporting personalities like Robin Uthappa, Leander Paes, Ankita Raina, Prashant Surve, and Des Buckingham so far in his career. He does not feel ODIs should be completely replaced with T20Is as he reckons every format has its own beauty.

In his free time, he watches Manchester United attempt to get back to their former glory days or plays FC 25.

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Edited by Parag Jain