KS Bharat is set to be preferred over KL Rahul as wicketkeeper in the upcoming five-Test series against England. According to Indian Express reports, it is learned that the management has not shown much faith in the latter to keep the wickets in the turning lanes.
Reports claimed that the BCCI is ready to prepare the rank-changers for the five-match Test series against England. Therefore, the team will need a specialized goalkeeper. KS Bharat arguably possesses better goalkeeping skills than Rahul and the former is more suited as a goalkeeper in those conditions.
It is known that the team management informed the selection committee that they only supported KL Rahul as goalkeeper in South Africa because of his pace and rebounding in those conditions. The Rahul Dravid-led management has clearly told the BCCI that the Karnataka batsman will not keep wickets in India.
A source close to the BCCI said, “The Indian team will once again play on a spinner’s track and the team management felt that the specialized spinners should take care of the work at home. The team has many quality players and will not take any risks, especially when the field on offer will be a turning point.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday (January 12) announced the Indian team for the first two Tests against England. They included three wicketkeepers in the team – KL Rahul, KS Bharat and debutant Dhruv Jurel.
There were recent reports that also suggested that KL Rahul would not keep wickets in the Tests against England. However, he mentioned that Ishan Kishan would be backed. But to the surprise of many, the BCCI did not pick the left-hander in the team.
It has generated a lot of speculation about the left-hander’s future. But with three more Tests left, he could be back in the team. Ishan Kishan is expected to play first in the Ranji Trophy before returning to the team.
IND vs ENG: Apart from KL Rahul not staying, team management is also likely to rotate fast bowlers
Apart from KL Rahul’s development, Indian Express reports also suggested that the team management will rotate fast bowlers during the five-match Test series. It was learned that no pacer will play all five matches and they will be given rest according to their workload management.
India have named as many as four pacers – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar for the first two games. The team is expected to play with only two pacers in the XI as they normally prefer to play with three spinners in Indian conditions.
In recent years, BCCI has opted to play Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the XI. Apart from these three, India also included Kuldeep Yadav in the team. All of them are expected to play an important role in the series somewhere in the series.
Here is the Indian team for the first two Tests against England:
Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan.
