Bethell on the level after opening up on Kohli time

JACOB Bethell believes he levelled up during an Indian Premier League stint alongside Virat Kohli after the England youngster boosted his prospects of reclaiming his Test spot.

- By DAVID CHARLESWORTH

A perfectly-paced 82 off 53 balls on his home ground at Edgbaston was the standout of England’s 400 for eight in a 238-run demolition of the West Indies on Thursday.

The one-day series opener was Bethell’s first England outing in three months as an injury to his left hamstring sidelined him for the Champions Trophy and his IPL commitments meant he missed last week's Test win over Zimbabwe.

Bethell might have featured just twice for Royal Challengers Bangalore but he feels emboldened by the experience, having opened the batting both times with India superstar Kohli, who recently retired from Test duty.

"I can’t think of a specific thing he said to me that I was like, ‘that’s what I’m going to remember, but it was just an accumulation over the couple of months of chatting to him,” said the Warwickshire star.

“I think he quite enjoys the overseas boys because we're pretty chill around him, but he’s definitely got whatever they say nowadays: ‘aura’.