the fight for Indian team Finding a wicketkeeper-batsman in Test cricket in the absence of Rishabh Pant could come to an end in the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. The Indian team tried the likes of KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan in the last twelve months.

Now, KL Rahul He is supposed to don the gloves in the series against South Africa. KL Rahul has never played as a wicketkeeper in Test cricket and it will be a completely new experience for the Indian vice-captain to don the white gloves.

However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir sees no “real challenge” in KL Rahul’s new role in the upcoming series against South Africa and reveals the real challenge Rahul will face in the future as a wicket-keeper. He feels that Rahul will not find it difficult to keep wickets in South Africa, where there is enough bounce and the ball will reach the keeper.

KS Bharat was the starting keeper in the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year as Pant’s backup. He also kept wickets in the final of the World Test Championship in June. However, Bharat failed to impress with the bat and was average with the gloves, failing to score a fifty during his career. Ishan Kishan was chosen as the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Test series in the West Indies. He impressed with both bat and gloves scoring a half-century in the series.

Ishan Kishan was included in the Test series against South Africa but later opted out of the series due to personal reasons. He has been replaced by KS Bharat in the team, but as of now, backup option KL Rahul is promoted as first-choice wicketkeeper given his batting prowess, which will provide stability to the team in terms of batting.

Gautam Gambhir reveals the real challenge for KL Rahul

Gautam Gambhir expressed his hope that KL Rahul stays fit for India when the team takes on England in a five-match Test series. Gambhir calls KL Rahul’s “real challenge” as a top-ranked player in India the biggest challenge for a goalkeeper. KS Bharat struggled in the Border-Gavaskar trophy played in India earlier this year. Even Rishabh Pant struggled early on as he started keeping wickets for India in Tests.

“I hope this is not a one-time situation because it would be unfair. The real challenge for him will not be wicket-keeping in South Africa, but range changes, in that five-match Test series against England in which Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar will bowl. No challenge is greater than that.”

“If you are looking at these two Test matches, I would prefer not to play against him because I would look at long-term plans, and India does not have a long-term plan at the moment because now you only have KS Bharat and Rahul. . But it is probably the right way to do things to allow KL Rahul to do the job until Rishabh Pant comes back.” he said.

The two-match Test series against South Africa is the second task for India in the current WTC cycle. They defeated the West Indies earlier this year in July. Team India has qualified for the WTC finals for two consecutive cycles but has failed to win it. This time around, India would hope to win the ICC Mace World Test Championship, and winning a series in South Africa will certainly help them on the table.