RCB Podcast – Phil Salt opens up on his successful equation with Virat Kohli in IPL 2025

As RCB went on to win their first IPL in 2025, the opening partnership of Phil Salt and Virat Kohli played an instrumental hand in building a solid base for the team. The two came together to add 565 runs for the opening stand from the 13 innings that they played together and it came at a strike rate of 174.3.

Phil Salt, the iconic English power-hitter, hammered 403 runs at a strike rate of 175.98 from the 13 innings throughout the season, and his presence up top alongside Virat Kohli completely changed the course of the games for RCB. He went on to smash four half-centuries while registering a highest score of 65.

Talking on the latest episode of Big Basket presents RCB Podcast: Bold & Beyond, Phil Salt opened up on his relationship with Virat Kohli. He also underlined how his understanding with Virat was crucial in producing those staggering stands up front.

Salt said, “It's always key to have a good relationship with, you know, whoever you're doing that job with. It's more key that you know how they play and they know how you play so that when you're out there, you can almost bring out the best versions of each other. We set about building that relationship from when we both arrived here.”

He further added, “So pretty pleased but you know obviously when we played the first half of the competition which you normally you know that's like the optimistic side of things, especially at the start of a new cycle everyone's trying to figure out where their team lies in the picture if they've got a good team this year. You know what works, what doesn’t.”