KS Bharat Or KL Rahul For WTC Final? Ex-India Selector Has An Interesting Answer

The debate over the wicket-keeper spot in the Indian cricket team has intensified once again ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final with a portion of fans and experts feeling KL Rahul should replace KS Bharat in the playing XI. Bharat did not have a great outing in the recently concluded Test series against Australia and his fumbles behind the stumps earned him criticism online. Rahul also did not do well in the first two matches and was eventually replaced by Shubman Gill. Former India selector Saba Karim weighed in on the topic and said that it is possible that the national team will stick with Bharat as the specialist wicket-keeper batsman.

“Eventually, that is up to the team management. But I feel the way the Indian team management in the recent past has dealt with youngsters, they have offered them a lot of security. They have created a conducive environment for them to grow. And they have not been very harsh in terms of performances, because they believe that they have invested heavily in a youngster, who has come to this stage and made a debut in a Test match,” Karim said in an interaction organised by JioCinema.

While Karim did not rule out the inclusion of Rahul as a pure batsman, he added that the Indian cricket team has a history of backing young talent and in the absence of Rishabh Pant, it is expected that Bharat will be provided with a number of opportunities in the near future.

“I do expect the Indian management to give more chances to KS Bharat. The conditions are extremely challenging, it is not easy for a young wicketkeeper to do well in these conditions. And in some of the Test matches he has been quite good behind the stumps. There are always areas of improvement for Bharat. But the way I look at it, if one has spent so much time in the growth of a young cricketer if you have prepared him through different kinds of challenges, whether it is from first-class cricket to India A, then I think it makes sense to give him some more opportunities, to kind of secure him into the side,” he added.