IPL 2025: RCB announce Tim Seifert as Jacob Bethell replacement

IPL 2025, RCB squad update: Royal Challengers Bengaluru announce Tim Seifert as Jacob Bethell replacement (AFP Photo)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have roped in New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert as replacement for Jacob Bethell. The latter will leave the RCB camp following their final league fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which is scheduled to be played on Friday at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The match was initially scheduled to be played in Bengaluru but considering the weather forecast there was a late venue change.

Bethell will be joining the England national team. An official release by the IPL stated that "the replacement will be effective from May 24, 2025".

Seifert joins RCB for Rs 2 crore, and has 66 T20I appearances in which he has amassed 1540 runs. The player has been associated with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) previously but hardly got any game time with the two franchise. Overall he has three IPL appearances in which he has mustered 26 runs.

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RCB have already qualified for the playoffs and will now be looking for a Top 2 finish, which will give them a lifeline even if there is a hiccup at that stage. They are currently placed second, one spot below Gujarat Titans. Both teams are separated by a point each.

Meanwhile, a new replacement rule has been introduced in the IPL, which permits teams to recruit temporary substitute players for the last few games of the rescheduled 2025 season. However, those players will not be eligible for retention prior to the subsequent auction.

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The rule came in place after the league was suspended midway due to the rising tension between India and Pakistan, which threatened to grow into a full fledged war. This led to several overseas players withdrawing from the league, which also saw it get pushed into June. Many South Africa and Australia players, who are still part of the tournament, will be leaving their camp after the league stage and join their national teams for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which is scheduled to be played at Lord's from June 11.