India are qualified for the Test championship final which will be played in England on June 7, all thanks to New Zealand who defeated the other contender Sri Lanka in a nail-biting 1st Test by 2 wickets. However, the Indian players will be in action in the 16th edition of the Indian T20 League before the major final.
But India’s main concern would be the injury of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Both will also miss the entire season of the cash-rich league. Bumrah suffered a back injury last year against England and missed many major tournaments as well. On the other hand, Pant injured himself in a horrific road accident and is likely to be out of action for the entire 2023. Meanwhile, former legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar talked about who can replace Pant as wicketkeeper.
“You can see KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper. If he bats at No.5 or 6 in at the Oval (in the WTC final) then our batting will be stronger. Because he batted really well in England last year. He scored a century at the Lord’s. Keep KL Rahul in mind when you pick your XI for the WTC final,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
Even Ishan Kishan can be considered: Sunil Gavaskar
KS Bharat made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar series and couldn’t produce anything special in the batting and wicketkeeping departments. Gavaskar highlighted Dinesh Karthik’s comments on Bharat keeping issues.
“Dinesh Karthik summed up the problems with his wicketkeeping quite beautifully (during commentary). The real test of a wicketkeeper is on pitches like these where the ball is turning. If you look at Travis Head’s dismissal, when the ball turned and hit his stumps, KS Bharat’s gloves were nowhere near the ball.”
“That means, if the ball hadn’t hit the stumps, it would have resulted in 4 byes. This is definitely a cause for concern. Whether they will select him in the XI or not is up to the selection committee but in England, you won’t get pitches where the keeper has to stand up to the stumps. In that case, you can pick KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper and even Ishan Kishan can be considered. Their batting is better than Bharat’s,” he added.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Ab Umar ho gyi hai lgta hai sir ki
— vicky (@vickyluvsevery1) March 14, 2023
He also suggested this pic.twitter.com/WHGEkSzdg4
— ∆ B H I 🚩 (@SigmaX45) March 14, 2023
Akash Chopra pic.twitter.com/LnW2swsEbG
— Nikhhiiil (@iamnr001) March 14, 2023
Anna se PR ka paisa mila kya isko?
— Phoenix_Jumbo (@Symphony_jumbo) March 14, 2023
Disadvantage India then
— Rupam Paul 🇮🇳🇫🇷 (@paulrupam2122) March 14, 2023
Apt decision 👍
Catches toh Bharat ne bhi chode hai😆— Vicky Bhatnagar (@VBsimply) March 14, 2023
KL Rahul>>Bharat
If not Rahul, then Ishan Kishan should play.— Ishu (@PocketDynamoo) March 14, 2023
Agree with sunny G middle order me swing khelne wala ek achha batsman bhi mil jayega 😌
— AJ Amit (@ajamit64) March 14, 2023
If Rishabh is not there then …This probably is best decision….
— ʎɐɾ∀ ɐʎᴉɹnɐpɐɥq 아제 (@Ajay23442955) March 14, 2023
