Team India is fully prepared for the first test match against England from 25th January. The first match will be played in Hyderabad. The England team will play a five-match Test series on the India tour. Team India coach Rahul Dravid While talking to the media before the match, he said that KL Rahul Will play as a specialist batsman and will not do wicketkeeping in the match. In such a situation, India will have the option to include either KS Bharat and young Dhruv Jurel in the team as wicketkeeper. If Dhruv Jurel gets a chance, it will be his Test debut.
KL Rahul will only bat
Recently, KL Rahul played the role of wicketkeeper in two test matches on the South Africa tour. He also did wicketkeeping in World Cup matches. His wicketkeeping against the Proteas was highly appreciated. Dravid said in the press conference that Rahul will not play as wicketkeeper in this series. He said that we are clear about our selection. We have selected two more wicketkeepers in the team.
Rahul Dravid said this
Rahul Dravid said that Rahul has definitely done a great job as a wicketkeeper against South Africa. But for the five Test matches against England, we will consider two more options as wicketkeeper. Depending on the circumstances, either Bharat or Jurel will be included in the playing eleven. A day earlier, while playing for India A, Bharat scored a century against England Lions and strengthened his claim.
Wicketkeeping is difficult on the bowling of Ashwin and Jadeja.
Wicketkeeping against spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on Indian pitches is a big challenge. In such a situation, it seems that the team management will show more confidence in KS Bharat. Because, Jurel does not have experience yet. But yes, if India comes in a strong position in the series then Jurel may definitely get a chance in some matches. On such occasions, India will definitely miss its regular wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant.
Pant has been out of the field the entire last year
Rishabh Pant, who was seriously injured in a horrific car accident in December 2022, remained away from the field for the entire last year. There is a possibility of his return to IPL. In his absence, apart from KL Rahul, some other wicketkeepers were tried in the Indian team. Young Tilak Verma was also seen keeping wickets on several occasions in the limited overs series. The England team uses the ‘Baseball’ (playing aggressive cricket in every situation) style in Tests. In such a situation, the wicketkeeper has more chances to dismiss the batsman.
Bharat has proved effective on many occasions
After Pant’s injury, Bharat has performed the responsibility of wicketkeeper many times very well. He has impressed with his performance, but with the bat he has not been able to perform as per expectations. Despite this, Bharat’s performance behind the wicket cannot be ignored. India has played 82 of its 91 first-class matches in India. In this, 287 catches and 33 stumpings are recorded in his name. Jurel lacks experience and hence Bharat is more likely to play as a wicket-keeper batsman against England.