Former Indian wicketkeeper criticises Dravid's selection of 'KL Rahul' for the SA Tests: "The WK for IND ought to be someone who..."

  • Dec. 25, 2023, 12:46 p.m.

When the team plays South Africa in the first Test match at Centurion on December 26, Team India will be back in action. The two batting titans of India, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will play in the series for the first time since the forgettable World Cup final last month. In addition, KL Rahul, who was sidelined by an injury during the IPL earlier this year, will be making his red-ball cricket comeback when he rejoins the Test team for India. After missing important occasions like the West Indies series and the World Test Championship final, he is making a comeback. Rahul had appearances in the Asia Cup and World Cup after returning to white-ball cricket, but this South Africa series will be his first since the Australia Tests in February and March of 2023.

Significantly, India's head coach Rahul Dravid announced on Sunday that KL Rahul would be taking up the wicketkeeping responsibilities during the pre-match briefing for the first Test in Centurion. Rahul was handed the task of taking wickets when Ishan Kishan withdrew and KS Bharat emerged as the backup keeper. Some cricket experts are concerned about Rahul's lack of consistency as a wicketkeeper in the longest format despite his experience as a batter.

Parthiv Patel, a former keeper who last appeared for India in a Test series in South Africa in 2017–18, voiced doubts regarding Rahul's ability to hold the wicket in an international Test series, highlighting the need for a player who has been consistently claiming wickets in India's top domestic long-format competition, the Ranji Trophy, to assume the role in such demanding circumstances.

"I think that the person who keeps wickets in first-class or Ranji trophy matches should be the wicketkeeper for India's test matches. #imho #INDvSA #IndianCricket," Patel said on his official X account.

Both fans and analysts praised Rahul, who kept wicket for India at both the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup, for his sharp decision-making behind the stumps, especially when it came to the LBW reviews. Though Rahul has only begun one first-class match as a designated keeper-batter, he has not yet appeared in the longest format as a wicketkeeper.

Following Rishabh Pant's absence from India due to a serious automobile accident last year, Rahul was given the chance to keep wickets for the team in all formats. India has tended in the last several years to select a keeper-batter who can make a significant bat contribution.

 

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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