Jacob Bethell scored a century in his most recent England appearance, against India at the T20 World Cup in March. England batter Jacob Bethell will have an assessment on a finger injury, less than two weeks before the first Test against New Zealand.

The 22-year-old missed Friday's Indian Premier League game for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Defending champions RCB have qualified for the play-offs, with the final taking place on Sunday, 31 May, four days before Bethell is due to be playing for England at Lord's.

Although Bethell's absence on Friday was thought to be precautionary, the assessment is required to discover the extent of the injury. After failing to make the RCB team at the beginning of the tournament, Bethell came into the side following an injury to fellow England international Phil Salt. In seven innings, his highest score has been 27.

Bethell's presence at the IPL, rather than playing first-class cricket for Warwickshire, has been the subject of debate. England's Overton out of IPL with thigh injury. Pietersen criticises Cook for Bethell comments.

After scoring a breakthrough century in the final Ashes Test in Sydney in January, Bethell is lined up to bat at number three in a home Test for the first time against New Zealand. He will do so on the back of limited red-ball cricket for the Bears – Bethell has played only once in the County Championship since August 2024.

Before Bethell broke into the Bengaluru team, former England captain Sir Alastair Cook questioned his presence in India when he said: "He's not doing anything. Ideally he could come back and open for Warwickshire to help England."

Cook's ex-England team-mate Kevin Pietersen responded by writing on X: "Alastair Cook has absolutely NO IDEA what it's like to be in the IPL. What it's like to always be around the best players in the world. So his opinion on Jacob Bethell doesn't matter at all. Stay in India, Jacob. I know, even though you're not playing, you're learning and will be a way better player."

England have already made changes to their batting line-up for the first Test against New Zealand, following the 4-1 defeat in Australia. Durham's Emilio Gay will make his Test debut at the top of the order, at the expense of the omitted Zak Crawley. Uncapped Somerset left-hander James Rew is in the England squad as batting cover and would be the beneficiary if Bethell is ruled out.

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