Looking forward to playing alongside Virat Kohli at RCB: Salt

Having let go of Faf du Plessis, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) went into the mega auction on the lookout for an aggressive opener. Whilst there were a lot of options on the market, they went hard after the English wicketkeeper batter Phil Salt, who fit the bill.

The Welshman, who drew a bidding war between three franchises, was eventually acquired by RCB for INR 11.5 crore. Despite the sum, Salt’s acquisition feels natural, as the English batter has smashed 653 runs at the IPL at a strike rate of 175.54, with his best coming last year, when he scored 435 runs. 

Salt revealed what it’s like to play for RCB and what he’s looking forward to the most. 

"I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Virat [Kohli]. I've always had a bit of chat with him - and a laugh and a joke - when I've played against him in the past, so I'm looking forward to playing alongside him,” Salt told ESPNCricinfo. 

"As you saw, they [KKR] went hard to try and bring me back," Salt said. "But with the way the auction went for the different teams up to that point, maybe there wasn't enough money in the room."

Salt’s uber-aggressive game style would fit nicely in the Red and gold jersey at Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

"They've [RCB] got a very clear way of playing the game which is to go out and attack," Salt said. "They've always had the fiery personalities and their batting line-ups have been world-class.

The 28-year-old also revealed that RCB are one of the teams that he would turn the ‘TV on’ if they were batting. Not only that, Salt believes that he’s on the same wavelength as RCB’s head coach, Andy Flower and Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat. 

"They're one of a few teams who, when I was watching IPL years ago, if they were playing, I'd turn the TV on. Obviously they've got Andy there and Mo Bobat [as director of cricket], and I'm really looking forward to playing under them. Having been around them a little bit, I know that we're quite similar thinkers on the game in some ways - and their track record speaks for itself."

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