Written by:
OCBG Editorial Team
Phil Salt Credits Wife for IPL 2025 Final Appearance
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Updated
Cricket is a sport that demands a great deal of self-sacrifice from players on the field. However, sometimes success in matches is impossible without the difficult decisions that athletes make in their personal lives. A touching example of such a decision is related to the Englishman Phil Salt, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
What happened?
In the IPL 2025 final, RCB was set to battle for the championship against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). But two days before the event, Salt’s wife, Abi, went into labor. The player immediately left the team and flew to the UK to be with his wife and their newborn son. This was a significant loss for RCB, who were aiming for their first-ever championship title after a 17-year drought without a trophy.
The wisdom of his wife
When RCB fans had already lost hope that the star Englishman would be able to help the team in the final, a miracle happened. He arrived in Ahmedabad just hours before the game and was included in the roster. As Salt later recounted, he was in a difficult dilemma about what to do next. But Abi made the decision for him. She convinced the cricketer that they and their son would be able to wait for him, and that he needed to help his franchise in the fight for the title. So, Phil returned to India and helped RCB become champions.
Salt’s story is interesting for another reason: a year earlier, he played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who also became IPL champions. But the player was unable to participate in the final, and, according to him, missing a second consecutive decisive match would have been difficult for him.