Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar has remained cautious about Phil Salt’s availability ahead of the crucial IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 clash against the Gujarat Titans in Dharamsala. Salt, one of RCB’s most explosive batters this season, has been sidelined for more than a month after suffering a finger injury during the match against Delhi Capitals on April 18.

The England wicketkeeper-batter injured his left hand while diving to stop a boundary and has not featured since then. With fellow England batter Jacob Bethell leaving the squad after sustaining a finger injury of his own, Salt is now considered the leading candidate to open alongside Virat Kohli in the high-pressure playoff clash.

However, Rajat Patidar made it clear that the team management is still assessing Salt’s readiness before finalising the playing XI. “He is fit and doing drills, but we haven’t decided the playing XI yet,” Patidar said during the pre-match press conference.

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RCB secured a playoff spot and finished in the top two despite Salt’s absence, with the franchise carefully managing his recovery. The team also chose not to risk him during their final league-stage match against Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the playoffs.

In the absence of both Salt and Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer partnered with Kohli at the top of the order. Bethell had earlier stepped into the opening role but struggled for consistency, scoring only 96 runs in seven innings.

RCB were eligible to sign a replacement player for Salt under IPL rules if his injury had been declared season-ending. However, the franchise remained patient and continued backing the England batter to recover in time for the knockout stage.

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The injury came at a frustrating moment for Salt, who had rediscovered his best T20 form with RCB after a difficult ICC T20 World Cup campaign with England. He had also praised the positive environment created within the franchise under Mo Bobat, Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik earlier this season.