former england cricketer Kevin Peterson launched a sharp rebuttal Alastair Cook After former England captain advises young batsmen Jacob Bethel Should consider cutting short his IPL 2026 tenure with Royal Challengers Bangalore and return to county cricket.Cook believes Bethel, as talented as he is, is losing valuable development time by sitting on the bench. The youngster lit up the World Cup with a stunning 45-ball hundred in the semi-finals of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, but is yet to feature for RCB this season amid stiff competition from overseas stars such as Phil Salter, Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Josh Hazlewood.Cook believes the situation is far from ideal for players at this stage of their careers. Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, he said Bethell’s top-order ability was already evident and needed consistent game time to back it up.“For top-order batting, the way he played in Sydney, in that situation against that attack… I looked at a player there and I’m sure this guy can open up. If he can hit three balls, he can open up,” Cook said.He also questioned the value of staying on the IPL bench during the crucial development phase.“(But) it’s not ideal, isn’t it? Bethel shouldn’t be like this because he’s not opening. He’s sitting in the IPL and doing nothing. Ideally, he could come back and open for Warwickshire and help England,” he added.However, Peterson strongly disagreed and responded bluntly to X.“Alastair Cook has no idea what it’s like to play in the IPL… what it’s like to be around the best players in the world all the time. So his opinion of Jacob Bethel didn’t matter at all. Stay in India, Jacob. I know that even if you’re not playing, you’re learning and becoming a better player. ” Peterson wrote on X.Pietersen stressed that being part of an IPL environment, training with and learning from some of the best players in the world, is invaluable in the development of young cricketers, even without immediate playing opportunities.
