"Phil Salt didn't make a good start in India wearing a Red & Blue jersey" - Fans react as RCB's new signing bags duck in IND vs ENG 2025 1st T20I

England opener Phil Salt was dismissed for a three-ball duck in the ongoing T20I series opener against India at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22. The hosts won the toss and chose to field first.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh drew first blood early, sending back Salt in the very first over. The batter was undone by a short-pitched delivery. The ball took him by surprise and he ended up finding only a leading edge that went straight to keeper Sanju Samson.

It is worth mentioning that Salt was in great demand at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 28-year-old was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for a whopping ₹11.50 crore after an excellent stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders last year.

Following the swashbuckling batter's failure in the first T20I against India, many fans took to social media to troll RCB. Here are some of the top reactions on X:

"Phil Salt 1st innings at Eden Gardens after leaving KKR and joining RCB: Gaddari Korbe," wrote a fan.

"Phil Salt on a mission to sink RCB Opening and get back to KKR next season," commented another.

"Phil Salt ne to dhokha de diya yrr," chimed in yet another.

Phil Salt endured a rare failure at Eden Gardens. He has enjoyed great success at the venue in IPL, scoring 350 runs across seven games at an impressive average of 58.33.

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"The most valuable T20 batter in the world" - R Ashwin's massive praise of Phil Salt

Ahead of the T20I series opener between India and England, R Ashwin reserved high praise for Salt. The veteran off-spinner hailed the player as the most valuable T20 batter in the world.

Ashwin, however, pointed out that Salt wasn't coming to India in great form. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Team India all-rounder stated (from 8:52):

"Phil Salt played for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. We can say that he could be the most valuable T20 batter in the world. So, if we look at his performance considering that, he is not coming in with a very good form. He scored a 70 and it was a very struggling 70."

Salt was the second-highest run-getter for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their title-winning campaign last year. He amassed 435 runs in 12 outings at a brilliant strike rate of 182.