‘I’ve never heard a sound so loud’: When Jacob Bethell was overcome by Chinnaswamy’s roar at Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Virat Kohli and Jacob Bethell (ANI Photo) England youngster Jacob Bethell recounted the unforgettable experience of batting alongside Virat Kohli at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), describing the atmosphere as unlike anything he had experienced before.Bethell, who joined RCB after being signed in the 2025 IPL mega-auction, shared the dressing room with Kohli during the franchise’s title-winning campaigns in 2025 and 2026. Although the young all-rounder had a mixed season with the bat, he said the opportunity to walk alongside one of the highlights of modern careers remains great.

‘I remember being nervous’

Speaking on YouTube’s Super Over podcast, Bethell admitted that he was nervous ahead of his first home performance in Bengaluru.“It was crazy. I remember being really nervous before. It was just my first game in front of the home fans. I was nervous to say the least. But once I got on the floor, I just felt a sense of excitement. I had drinks for quite a lot of the competition. I was looking at the atmosphere and wanted to get a piece of it,” said Jacob Bethell. “We went to bat. All I can hear is… the place is bouncing, there’s no gap in it. You feel like they’re on you. Luckily we managed to get a few runs; I scored a few, he scored a few. I remember hitting the second ball for four and I’ve never heard that loud,” he added.

“Virat is very chill off the field”

Bethell also shed light on Kohli’s personality away from the limelight, saying the former RCB skipper is much more relaxed than his fiery personality on the field suggests.“Apart from cricket and off the field, he’s actually a very chilled individual. He’s great to talk to, great to spend time with. But it’s that ability that you can then turn into a competitive nature in cricket or training,” revealed Bethell. Bethell’s IPL 2026 campaign produced 163 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 140.52, but the England all-rounder had earlier credited Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik in a video released by RCB on their official handle for helping him improve his game, especially against spin, during his time with the Bengaluru outfit.