‘He’s under surveillance’: RCB sweat Phil Salt’s call ahead of IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 vs GT

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar said opener Phil Salt is fit ahead of their IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 clash against Gujarat Titans in Dharamshala on Tuesday, but added that the team management is yet to decide whether he will be part of the playing eleven.Salt missed the second part of the league phase due to injury after featuring in the first six games of the season. In Monday’s pre-match press conference, Patidar said the England batsman remains under observation. “Sal is fit, he is under observation. But we have not decided on our playing eleven yet. We will look at the goal and then we will decide.”RCB finished top of the points table with 18 points from 14 matches, edging out GT in net run rate after both teams finished level. The winner of Qualifier 1 will advance directly to the IPL final, while the losing side will get another chance through Qualifier 2 on Friday against the winner of the Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.Patidar said that RCB’s focus remains on getting a direct qualification for the finals.“Win and go to the final. That’s the chat we’ve had since day one. The performance in the table was something we showed. We’ll get the rest if we win this game,” he said.Despite topping the points table, Patidar described the clash with GT as even.“On the day, the team that performs better under pressure will win. We just have to hold our nerve.”RCB will face a Gujarat bowling attack that has been one of the most consistent this season. However, Patidar backed their own bowlers to respond strongly after a memorable outing against SRH in the last league match.Bhuvneshwar Kumar had an expensive outing in this match but Patidar said the veteran pacer remains key to RCB’s plans.“He’s an experienced bowler. The last game didn’t go the way we wanted but bowling is our strength and the way we move in the powerplay I think will be very key (against GT). So we’re looking for early wickets and that’s what we’ve been doing so far. That’s what Bhuvi, Hazlewood and Rasik are doing. So we hope to continue the same process.”