Phil Salt is an aggressive opening batter and occasional wicketkeeper from England, born in Wales. He spent part of his childhood in Barbados before moving back to England at age 15 on a cricket scholarship to Reed’s School in Surrey, where he shifted his focus from football to cricket. He later joined the Sussex academy after being recommended by former Surrey cricketer Keith Medlycott. Salt worked his way through the ranks and eventually made his first-team debut, scoring a quick 22 with three fours and a six against bowlers like Reece Topley and Jamie Porter. He made his first-class debut against a touring Pakistan side but initially struggled with consistency and spent a lot of time in Sussex’s Second XI. Salt finally became a regular in Sussex’s senior side in 2018, excelling mainly in white-ball cricket. He was the top run-scorer for Sussex in the 2019 T20 Blast, which brought him attention from franchise leagues such as the BBL, PSL, and CPL. His performances earned him an England call-up in 2019, but he had to wait until 2021 to make his international debut in an ODI series against Pakistan after a COVID-related squad change. He remained on the fringes of the England team, occasionally coming in as a replacement, before moving from Sussex to Lancashire in 2021. His breakthrough ODI century came in 2022 against the Netherlands, where he scored 122 in a record-breaking England total of 498 runs—the highest List-A score ever. Salt was part of England’s squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he featured in the semi-final and final after Dawid Malan’s injury, and England went on to win the tournament. Later that year, he was signed by Delhi Capitals in the IPL auction for INR 2 crore.
