The Indian side under the captaincy of skipper Rohit Sharma will be looking to start off the year with a bang when it comes to the red-ball format as they face Australia in their first Test game of the year in the opening draw of the Border Gavaskar Trophy this Thursday.
While the Indian batting order looks like a solid unit, the team is bound to miss out on the services of star wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant who was involved in a horrific car crash last year in December ruling him out for the foreseeable future.
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Team India have the option to decide from the options of Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat, with both men most likely option to wear the gloves for the first Test match at Nagpur. While KS Bharat has done well with the opportunities in First-class cricket, Ishan Kishan on the other hand has been a flickering mess ever since his double ton against Bangladesh back in December.
Former team India selector MSK Prasad had his say on the topic of wicketkeepers where he believed Bharat had been particularly groomed for the role and seems like a better option over Ishan Kishan who yet has to make his red-ball debut for India.
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“Bharat had been groomed and earmarked as India’s Test keeper since the time he played for India A. He tried to do his best in those matches and has done well overall in red-ball cricket. He has been waiting for his turn and it appears he’ll be getting it in the upcoming Test. As for Ishan, he needs to wait.”
“One requires a different mindset altogether to be a wicketkeeper in Test matches. It’s not just about doing it for some 20 or 50 overs. You may have to stand behind the stumps for an entire day or more. I think such a situation may arise only if Bharat fails to make use of his opportunities. They can then think of other options.”
While India do have the option of fielding either Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat behind the stumps, the team could decide to have vice-captain KL Rahul take up the responsibility to play an extra bowler in the opening game. It will be interesting to see if the team management decides to opt for Bharat as their primary keeper or give Ishan Kishan another chance at redemption.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
