Former England cricket captain Michael Atherton did not hold back while talking about Jacob Bethell’s absence from England’s Test squad for the match against Zimbabwe. The young all-rounder was busy playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025, and Atherton was not happy about it. Jacob Bethell became the main talking point because he was not available for the Test series against Zimbabwe. He was playing for RCB in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which clashed with the Test schedule.

Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain talked about Jacob Bethell not being in England’s Test team for the Zimbabwe series. Bethell did not play the Test match because he was busy in IPL 2025 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Before the second ODI between England and West Indies, Atherton spoke on Sky Sports. He joked about Hussain, who had earlier said that Bethell was learning a lot in IPL by being around a big player like Virat Kohli.

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But Atherton did not agree. He said national duty is more important, especially for players who have central contracts with England.

“I said this three podcasts ago when we were talking about the Zimbabwe Test. I said, bring Bethell back from IPL. It’s an international match. He is a centrally contracted player. I am not saying this now just because things changed. I said the same thing before too,” Atherton said.

He also said:

“You will support him staying in IPL because you have many fans in India. You say he is learning from Kohli and having breakfast with him. That’s fine. But when it’s time to play for your country, you must come back and play.”

Bethell’s IPL Journey

Jacob Bethell got to play in IPL because RCB’s regular opener Phil Salt was sick. Bethell opened the innings with Kohli and played two matches. Jacob Bethell got to play in IPL because RCB’s regular opener Phil Salt was sick. Bethell opened the innings with Kohli and played two matches. Before the IPL playoffs, Bethell left India and joined the England team. He is now playing in the white-ball series against the West Indies.