Team India is all set to take on South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series starting December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The Indian team has players like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, who can play an important role in helping the Indian team capture the South African stronghold after 31 years.
While the Indian team has faced some injuries ahead of the first Test match at Centurion, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has confirmed that KL Rahul will take the wickets in the first match. Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Rahul Dravid stated that Rahul is confident of keeping wickets in the longer format.
Rahul Dravid confirms KL Rahul as wicketkeeper in first Test match against South Africa
Rahul Dravid said in the pre-match press conference, “It is an exciting challenge. It’s an opportunity for him to do something different. Since Ishan was not available, we had a couple of goalkeepers to choose from. Rahul is very confident in giving it a try. We understand that he hasn’t done it very often (in the longer format), but he has done it in fifty overs, and even that is difficult.”
“It has held up a lot in the last five or six months. One of the things here is that there is more pace in bowling than spin, which will make the role easier for him. We’ll see how it develops. “It’s good to have someone like him, someone who has the ability with the bat and possession.”
Wicket-keeping has been something KL Rahul has been doing for the last nine months, although it has been in the white-ball format. Rahul has been brilliant with the gloves over the last few months and he showed the brilliance of it during the ODI World Cup 2023.
KL Rahul made some brilliant catches behind the wickets throughout the tournament and received many fielding medals from coach T Dilip. Rahul also played some exceptional knocks while at number five and led the Indian team to victory in the first match of the tournament against Australia.
Talking about the IND vs SA Test series, the Indian team will want to win their first Test series on South African soil. The Indian team won the ODI series, while the T20I series ended with a score of 1-1.
The Indian team, which also qualified for the finals of the World Test Championship twice, will try to repeat the same in the latest cycle of the WTC. India has one of the best bowling line-ups comprising Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who can take 20 wickets at any time.
The Indian team is also the number one team in the ICC Test team rankings and will want to play like champions against the Proteas. This will also be the first time after the 2023 ODI World Cup final that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play an international series together. India lost to Australia in the CWC 2023 final and will want to start again with the first Test match against South Africa.