India’s cricket team is preparing to end their decade-long drought of winning an ICC trophy when they face Australia in the final of the World Test Championship from June 7 to 11 at the Oval. While India managed to make it to the final of the WTC 2021 under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, they fell short against New Zealand. This year, India is ready to take on Australia, the team they defeated in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, the conditions in England will be different from those in India, so Sunil Gavaskar has suggested a surprising name for India’s wicketkeeper in that fixture.
“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.
Sunil Gavaskar, the Indian cricket legend, has recommended that KL Rahul should be considered for the wicketkeeper position in the upcoming match. Rahul, who was expected to be on the bench for the series, performed well for the team in 2021, scoring 315 runs in four matches, and cemented his spot. However, he has struggled in the past year and was dropped for the last two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Therefore, it remains to be seen if he can keep his spot in the squad or if Abhimanyu Easwaran, who scored a century in the Irani Cup, will replace him for the upcoming fixture.
As far as wicketkeeping goes, KS Bharat is ahead of Ishan Kishan in the pecking order and might keep the wickets. Bharat and Kishan were both uncapped going into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Bharat was backed for all four matches, and he lived up to expectations. While Rahul has kept wickets in Test cricket, he has done so only on a stand-in basis. He is a regular wicketkeeper in white-ball cricket only.
Rishabh Pant seeing India having WK problem with KS Bharat/Ishan Kishan pic.twitter.com/6UOwAuob9g
— Hemant (@Sportscasmm) March 8, 2023
In conclusion, India is looking forward to their upcoming final match against Australia at the World Test Championship. The decision of who will be the wicketkeeper is yet to be made, with KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KS Bharat, and Ishan Kishan all in the running for the position. It remains to be seen who will be selected for the crucial match.
