One of the most important issues for India in the World T20 final versus Australia is who would wear the wicketkeeping gloves in Rishabh Pant’s absence.
India will be without Rishabh Pant in the middle order when they meet Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which begins on Wednesday. Apart from being one of the most consistent hitters in Test cricket in recent years, Pant has also matured into a solid wicketkeeper, and India must now decide who will wear the gloves in the pivotal one-off Test at The Oval.
They have two options: KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan. While Kishan is yet to play a Test for India, Bharat shown his ability as a gloveman in a series against Australia earlier this year. At the same time, his batting results left a lot to be desired, as he only scored a top score of 44 in the four-match series. Bharat, on the other hand, has been working on some good wicketkeeping instruction from MS Dhoni in England.
During the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), Bharat revealed he spoke with the former India captain. Bharat was a member of the Gujarat Titans, however he never saw action throughout the season, and was therefore a member of the team that came second against Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the final. “He (talked about) his experiences keeping in England as well as what would work best for any wicket-keeper,” Bharat said on the ICC.
“It was a very good conversation with a lot of insights.” It’s the awareness – the finest example is MS Dhoni, whose awareness in keeping is remarkable,” Bharat remarked. Dhoni played 12 Tests in England throughout his successful international career.
“Being a keeper requires intent and passion, because keeping is a thankless job.” “You keep 90 overs in a Test day and you have to concentrate ball by ball, so you have to accept the challenges, embrace it, and be really passionate about contributing to the team,” added Bharat.
