Jacob Bethell, who will join the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2025 Indian Premier League, is all set to debut for his national team against New Zealand. England will play a three-match away test series against New Zealand, with the first one starting on November 28 at Hagley Oval. The 21-year-old Jacob Bethell from England, who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm spin, is supposed to play at Number 3, as he does in First-Class cricket. RCB has acquired the young cricketer for 2.6 crores after winning a bidding war against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. Bethell's pinch-hitting abilities and bowling skills will hopefully aid RCB for the 2025 season. Nevertheless, Bethell's name came in the national side, as their regular wicketkeeper Jordan Cox has been dropped after suffering a thumb injury. Ollie Pope will keep wickets instead and will play at number 6. Read: Rajasthan Royals Sign Young Vaibhav Suryavanshi for ₹1.1 Crore Who is Jacob Bethell? Born in Barbados and now playing for England, Bethell has an impressive run in limited-overs cricket, smacking two half-centuries in the T20I series against the West Indies. He owns 173 runs in T20Is at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 167.96. His domestic T20 stats shone with a massive 909 runs at a strike rate of 142.47 across 52 matches. However, the longest format remains challenging, as he averages 25.44 in first-class cricket and has yet to score a century in any format. With Cox's injury, England's Test squad has to go through certain shuffles fitting Bethell at Number 3. Pope will temporarily keep wickets. However, the rest of the lineup remains unchanged from October’s Pakistan series. On a green-top wicket in Christchurch, England has revamped its bowling attack, banking on Bethell’s debut and experienced players like Root, who will be playing his 150th Test. England team Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.