3 reasons why RCB signing Jacob Bethell in IPL 2025 auction was an important move

It has started to feel like England is producing new generational batting talents every week. There have been so many that if you don't keep a close eye, you might miss a name or two before a third pops up.

Jacob Bethell, 21, is the latest of the lot and he has shown enough signs already to prove why he could be (another) real deal. On Sunday, he smashed an unbeaten 37-ball 50 in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch -- the second-fastest Test half-century for a debutant.

There were precautionary murmurs asking England to not take him to New Zealand this early. But those were partly due to how naturally brilliant he has been in the shortest format, striking at 142.47 across 52 T20 league and domestic matches and an even better 167.96 in his six international matches.

Despite his age and the nascent stage of his career, he always looked likely to be signed in the IPL 2025 auction. It was Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s ₹2.60 crore bid that sealed his IPL entrance. It's a deal that looks better and more important by the day, especially due to the makeup of their squad.

Below, we analyze why it's so important:

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#3 Lack of quality left-handers

RCB have done well to spread out their resources in the middle order. Last season, they spent almost ₹30 crores on Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green and both Australian all-rounders failed to perform as per expectations.

This season, that money has got them Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, and Devdutt Padikkal. However, none of them is a middle-order left-handed hitter of spin.

Without a batter of that skillset, any team would expose itself to be stifled by a couple of left-arm spinners, who are now getting more prevalent as run-stopping is assuming importance. Thus far, RCB had Mahipal Lomror playing that role.

Padikkal bats in the top order and has struggled for the last few IPL seasons, while Krunal is more of a cameo-playing finisher. Another promising domestic talent, Manoj Bhandage, would have to prove his worth for the IPL level, too.

Bethell solves that issue for RCB. The young left-hander has a strike-rate of 183.63 against spin in his T20I career, with an average of over 50. Even against right-arm orthodox, he has so far struck at a whopping 212.5 in the small sample size of two T20Is. His strike rate against most pace bowlers is above 160, too.

Partnering him with Jitesh and Livingstone in the middle-order makes RCB extremely deadly against spin and hard-length pace in the post-powerplay phase.

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#2 Unorthodox replacement for Maxwell

In Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik, who retired last season, RCB have not only lost two pillars of their batting order but also masters of the art of unorthodox cricket.

It's an important skill in T20s but an especially handy one at the Chinnaswamy where your 360-degree capabilities make you extremely dangerous as you can consistently access the shorter side of boundaries from both ends. This is why AB de Villers was so successful, and famously so, at RCB, too.

Bethell, who is adept in scoops and reverse sweeps but also the big hits down the ground, would allow the franchise to continue that trend and fully utilize their home ground's positives. He'll be the pocket rocket, almost an Ace in between some orthodox hitters and RCB would help themselves by using his skills optimally.

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#1 Future planning

Another thing common in the aforementioned middle-order batters who are likely to compete for playing 11 spots is their age. Almost everyone is in their prime -- which is not a bad thing but also means that they are not long-term prospects.

With Virat Kohli on the wrong side of 30s, Phil Salt closing in on his prime, and even the bowling attack being led by Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Krunal, Bethell provides important future insurance for this team.

There won't be another mega auction for three years, so while this RCB team is good enough to compete for the title in 2024, they need players like Bethell and Yash Dayal to future-proof the team. Bethell is a crucial long-term investment, who, if he comes good, could be their de Villiers-like mainstay for the rest of the decade.

Added bonus: he also bowls handy left-arm spin!