Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Phil Salt recently made comments that have been widely interpreted as a subtle dig at the current England cricket management under Brendon McCullum and Rob Key.

In a video released by the RCB franchise, Salt was seen interacting with the team's batting coach and mentor, Dinesh Karthik.

After a training session, Salt commended Karthik’s coaching style, stating: “This is the best bit of coaching I have had in a long time. I appreciate that you care, DK. There is no sarcasm in this”.

When the two shook hands, Karthik replied that it was just "part of his job".

Salt responded, “Not really. Not like that,” implying that the level of care and mentoring he received from Karthik was above and beyond standard coaching.

His comment was viewed as a subtle dig at the England cricket management, and the snippet was edited out and re-uploaded by RCB, likely to avoid controversy.

Not long ago, all-rounder Liam Livingstone accused McCullum (England head coach) and Key (ECB's managing director) of disrespect and poor communication.

Livingstone has fallen out of selection reckoning since March 2025 and is not hopeful of returning to international cricket under the current management.

“I asked why [I was dropped]. They said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz. Wrighty [outgoing selector Luke Wright] didn’t reach out, and Brooky [captain Harry Brook] sent me a text," Livingstone said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo last month.

“That probably sums that group up as a collective. Keysy [Rob Key] said nothing – [he] said I’ll speak to you in the summer. I actually rang him one day, and he said he was busy at a Test camp at Loughborough. And then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September.

“That was a bit of an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re not in, no one cares about you. That put my mind at ease that my cricket was going to be more enjoyable going forward," he added.

Livingstone claimed that during his struggles in India last year, he was told by McCullum to "chill out" and that he "cared too much", rather than receiving specific technical or tactical guidance.

“I was asking for help, and pretty much all I got was that I care too much and I need to chill out a little bit, and everything will take care of itself," Livingstone remarked.