“Virat was unbelievable with helping me out” - England star’s massive statement after stellar returns in ENG vs WI 2025 series

England batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell hailed Virat Kohli for helping him with his game during the recently concluded IPL 2025 season. Bethell was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) setup in his maiden IPL season.

The 21-year-old played only two games in RCB's title-winning campaign but opened the batting with Kohli in both outings. After scoring only 12 on his IPL debut, Bethell smashed a brilliant 33-ball 55 in the following game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He added a match-winning 97-run opening partnership with Kohli in that outing.

Despite not being part of RCB's 11 in the other games, Bethell observed Kohli from close quarters throughout the season.

Talking about the champion Indian batter in an interview with Sky Cricket, Bethell said (via Hindustan Times):

"It’s been great. [Virat] was unbelievable with helping me out, and even just the things he didn’t say to me personally, but just watching how he goes about training and how he approaches things."

He continued:

"Especially like chasing in a T20 game. That was unbelievable to watch and unbelievable to see first hand, just how easily he is able to shift up and down the gears and is able to template an innings depending on what is needed,"

Bethell enjoyed an excellent ODI and T20I series with the bat against the West Indies following his maiden IPL season. The 21-year-old averaged 85 at a strike rate of 173.46 in the T20I series after averaging almost 50 at a strike rate of 122.22 in the three ODIs. England won both series by a massive 3-0 margin.

Virat Kohli's batting heroics sparked RCB's incredible IPL 2025 title run

Virat Kohli's long wait for an elusive IPL trophy finally ended as RCB upstaged Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final to win their maiden IPL title. The 36-year-old played a massive role in RCB's run, finishing with 657 runs at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71 in 15 matches.

Kohli's winning impact was unmatched throughout the season, with RCB winning all eight games in which the veteran batter scored a half-century. He also top-scored for them in the grand finale, setting up the innings with a 35-ball 43.

It was Kohli's third consecutive IPL season with over 600 runs, propelling his overall league-leading tally to 8,661 runs in 267 matches.