KL Rahul will not be playing as a wicketkeeper-batter in the five-match Test series against England, which gets underway in Hyderabad on January 25. This was confirmed by Team India head coach Rahul Dravid. KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel will square off for the wicketkeeper-batter position.
KL Rahul was assigned to keep the wickets throughout the two Test matches played against South Africa and produced a fairly deft effort behind the stumps. In addition, he was chosen as one of India’s three wicketkeepers for the home series against England.
Despite having just played in 15 games in first-class cricket, young Dhruv Jurel has shown promise as he has scored 790 runs with an impressive average of 46.47, including a hundred and five half-centuries.
This can lead the team management to have more trust in KS Bharat, the wicketkeeper, who had just scored an outstanding unbeaten 116 that helped India A draw the first unofficial ‘Test’ against the England Lions at Ahmedabad.
KL Rahul won’t be playing as a wicketkeeper in the series – Rahul Dravid
Due to the nature of Indian pitches, a wicketkeeper must always stand up to the wickets against spinners, as in the case of Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. This is a position best left to a specialist stumper. In his 92 first-class matches, KL Rahul has only been appointed wicketkeeper three times, and none of those appearances occurred in India.
Nevertheless, Rahul Dravid clarified to the media on Tuesday as to why KL Rahul will be viewed merely as a pure batter in the forthcoming series.
“KL Rahul won’t be playing as a wicketkeeper 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,” Dravid stated.
On the other hand, Bharat, who stepped in to replace Rishabh Pant after he suffered injuries in a car accident, has performed admirably in the part and has received praise frequently.
Despite his lackluster bat performance, Bharat’s contributions behind the stumps are equally important. In 91 first-class matches, 82 of which have taken place in India, he has recorded 287 catches and 33 stumpings. For the series against England, Bharat will serve as wicketkeeper-batter because Jurel is still slightly young.
KL Rahul might take Virat Kohli’s place in the middle order for India
For personal reasons, Virat Kohli will not be a part of the Indian team for the first two Test matches against England. The question of who should replace him in the middle order has generated an intriguing discussion.
Even though Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, and even Cheteshwar Pujara’s names were circulating, India hasn’t formally announced Kohli’s replacement as of now. They may believe that KL Rahul can bat in the middle order based on this.
Rahul made a stunning comeback to the Test team last month on Boxing Day against South Africa, following being dropped during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. In Centurion, he scored a scorching 101 runs in the first inning under seaming conditions.
If given the chance, it will be interesting to watch how KL Rahul handles the pressure of batting against possible rank-turners. Throughout the series, he might give middle-order players like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer some good competition.
One thought on “IND vs ENG: “KL Rahul Will Not Be Playing As A Wicketkeeper”- Rahul Dravid Ahead Of The First Test Against England”