India qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the second consecutive time, which is scheduled to be played at the Oval in London starting on June 7. Former national selector Saba Karim shared his opinion on who should be the first-choice wicketkeeper for India in the WTC final between KS Bharat and Rahul.
KS Bharat made his Test debut against Australia in the first match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at Nagpur. Andhra wicketkeeper-batsman failed to impress with the bat, scoring 101 runs in 6 innings at an average of 20.20. He was not the best behind the wickets in the last Test, as he dropped a simple catch and conceded bye runs.
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They Have Not Been Very Harsh In Terms Of Performances – Saba Karim
During a special interaction organised by JioCinema, Saba Karim said that KS Bharat deserves a longer rope in Test cricket. Karim believes that Indian team management has provided a conducive environment for youngsters to grow and not been harsh in terms of performance.
“Eventually, that is up to the team management. But I feel the way the Indian team management in the recent past has dealt with youngsters, they have offered them a lot of security. They have created a conducive environment for them to grow. And they have not been very harsh in terms of performances, because they believe that they have invested heavily in a youngster, who has come to this stage and made a debut in a Test match,” Karim said.
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There Are Always Areas Of Improvement For Bharat – Saba Karim
Saba Karim believes that the Indian management should give Bharat more opportunities to secure his place in the team. The former Indian cricketer said that the conditions were challenging in the recently concluded series against Australia, and he was fine behind the stumps in some Test matches.
“I do expect the Indian management to give more chances to KS Bharat. The conditions are extremely challenging, it is not easy for a young wicketkeeper to do well in these conditions. And in some of the Test matches he has been quite good behind the stumps. There are always areas of improvement for Bharat.”
“But the way I look at it, if one has spent so much time in the growth of a young cricketer if you have prepared him through different kinds of challenges, whether it is from first-class cricket to India A, then I think it makes sense to give him some more opportunities, to kind of secure him into the side,” Saba Karim added.
India will face Australia in the WTC final at The Oval, and KL Rahul has a chance to make it into the playing XI if the team management wants to strengthen their batting line-up. Recently, KL Rahul was sacked from the vice-captaincy post due to his lean patch in the longer format of the game.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
