India head coach Rahul Dravid stated that KL Rahul won’t keep wickets during the Test series against England. Instead, one of KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel will don the wicketkeeping gloves for the series.
Ahead of the first Test match against England that starts in Hyderabad tomorrow, India head coach Rahul Dravid stated that KL Rahul won’t keep wickets during the five-match Test series. Dravid mentioned that the team management was clear about KL Rahul’s role in the team and named two specialist keepers in the squad with this in mind.
During a pre-match press conference, Dravid said, “Rahul won’t be playing as a wicket-keeper in the series. I think we were quite clear about that from the selection itself.”
“We had picked two others who could keep for us. Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw that series. But considering five Test matches and playing in these conditions, the selection will be between the two other keepers we have”.
Why India has replaced KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper
Dravid’s announcement comes as a surprise since KL Rahul has been donning the gloves for India since 2020 and had a stellar performance behind the stumps during last year’s World Cup. He cemented his reputation with another solid performance in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. But India feels that keeping wickets in home conditions for a long series such as this can be taxing for someone who is not a regular keeper.
Additionally, India needs someone to step up with the bat in the absence of Virat Kohli who will miss the first two Tests against England due to personal reasons. Rahul is tipped to bat at number 4 for the first two Tests and will need to fill in for India’s star batter.
KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel to keep for India against England
With Rahul playing the role of a specialist batter against England, Indian team management will have to choose between Dhruv Jurel or KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper. While Bharat has been reasonably good behind the stumps, his batting numbers aren’t too impressive, with an average of 18.42 after five Tests.
Jurel, on the other hand, has been exceptional in first-class cricket, boasting an average of 46.47 in 15 matches. His wicket-keeping had been impressive right from the time he played the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2020.
With almost nothing to choose between KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel, it will be interesting to see who India picks as their wicketkeeper for the first Test match that starts on Thursday in Hyderabad.
