England batter Jacob Bethell credited his stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for helping him calm his nerves and handle pressure when he played his first Ashes 2025-26 Test for England.

Bethell was included in England XI in place of Ollie Pope and struck a composed 40 as England chased down 175 to win the fourth Ashes Test that was played in Melbourne. This was England’s first Ashes Test win in Australia since 2010-11.

"I was pretty nervous. Not so much with the people, just the occasion, I guess. But I've played over in India, where it feels like there's 160,000 people watching. This atmosphere was incredible, and it was nice to get a win and contribute," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

In the IPL 2025 edition, Jacob Bethell played just two games for RCB, scoring 55 off 33 in the second game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Chennai Super Kings.

"The IPL, I only played two games, but every game and every occasion... Definitely, just knowing what I'm able to get out of myself when the situation is like that and when the atmosphere is like that. I definitely had a lot more confidence coming into this game after playing in front of, I don't know, 50,000 - which felt like 100,000 - at the Chinnaswamy,” Bethell added.

Bethell has been retained by RCB and is likely to play a more