Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday signed New Zealander Tim Seifert as a replacement for England batter Jacob Bethell, who will be unavailable for the IPL play-offs due to national commitments. The replacement will be effective from May 24, the BCCI said in a statement. Seifert, who has scored 1540 runs in 66 T20s for the Blackcaps, has played only three games in the IPL previously and last featured in the tournament in 2022. He will join RCB for Rs two crore. “Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have signed Tim Seifert as Jacob Bethell is set to leave from TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for England on May 24, 2025 – following RCB’s league-stage game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 23, 2025 – to join the England team,” the statement added.

Bethell’s last game with RCB will be on Friday when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their final league game will be against Lucknow Super Giants on May 27.

Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians are the other teams to have made the play-offs.

Jos Buttler, who is representing Gujarat Titans, too would be skipping the play-offs as they clash with England’s home series against the West Indies.