December, 30, 2022 – The day Rishabh Pant met with a near-fatal accident, which ruled him out of playing competitive cricket for months together. Pant’s absence also left a huge void in the Indian set-up, especially in Test cricket – a format where he has turned out to be game-breaker in all conditions.
India can’t find a like-for-like replacement for someone who is basically a generational talent. However, ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, to be played against at the Oval in June, the question on everyone’s lips is who is the next-best available option? KS Bharat, the incumbent wicketkeeper? Or perhaps go for a slightly left-field selection in KL Rahul? Let’s look at the two contenders with a little more depth.
Bharat
The unassuming cricketer from Visakhapatnam couldn’t shine brightly in the Test series against Australia – He amassed only 101 runs at an average of just over 20. To make matters worse for Bharat and India, his ‘keeping also was below-par in the final Test, where he fluffed an easy chance to give Travis Head a reprieve on the opening day. Perhaps the lack of runs with the bat in hand put even more pressure on Bharat’s wicketkeeping, as he has always been a competent ‘keeper in domestic cricket. He had effected a fine stumping to remove Marnus Labuschagne in the Nagpur Test, and also grabbed sharp catch to dislodge Steve Smith in the Delhi game.
We perhaps have to dig further to find evidence of Bharat’s potential with the bat. Bharat has been played regularly for India A, and has notched up 971 runs at an average of 48.55 since the start of 2018. Another point to note is that he is perhaps a better player of pace than spin. He made his first-class debut in 2013-14 for Andhra batting at the top of the order. In 2018, while playing South Africa A, he came out to bat with a confident gait, and took on Anrich Nortje’s scorching pace by pulling him a couple of times into the boundary hoardings. He also looked comfortable against Nortje in an IPL game played in 2021.
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“I love fast bowling to be honest, we played a lot of India As and then I’m also part of the Indian team (set-up) where you get to play with the best bowlers in the country,” Bharat had said at the press conference following an IPL outing in 2021. “It wasn’t a surprise element to play pace, and I would rather love someone who is giving pace… you can work the ball instead of hitting it hard.”
There is more evidences of Bharat’s ability against pace. In a warm-up game against Leicestershire last year, he handled the seam movement and swing on offer with a degree of confidence and finished with a well-measured 70. In that sense, it wasn’t surprising that Bharat looked more at home while facing the pacers in the last India-Australia Test in Ahmedabad. Having said that, facing an Australian pace attack, with the red ball nipping around in June, would be a much tougher task.
Rahul
Since crunching a superlative ton on a track that offered spongy bounce and sideways movement in the Centurion Test in 2021-22, Rahul, vice-captain till recently, has found it difficult to make contributions of note in Test cricket. After averaging just 12.66 against Australia at home, Rahul was also axed from the Test side. With a Test batting average of just over 33, it feels as though he hasn’t fulfilled his potential. But with Pant and Shreyas Iyer ruled out due to injuries, Rahul has another shot of making a comeback into the Test XI. Instead of Bharat, Rahul could take over the keeping gloves, and further strengthen the batting line-up.
Rahul has kept wickets in 18 out of the 54 ODIs he has played for India, having pouched 21 catches and effected two stumpings. However, wicketkeeping in a Test match, with the red ball wobbling around in England requires more skill. As it is a Test match, he will also have to keep wickets for long periods, which requires immense concentration and focus.
In addition to that, if Rahul was to take the responsibility of being the wicketkeeper for the WTC final, then he should ideally be keeping wickets for Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing IPL. It is true that one can’t simulate Test match-like conditions in IPL games. But Rahul needs to be in the groove, and for that he may need to don the gloves for Lucknow.
For a crucial match, India would likely not take a risk with Rahul as the wicketkeeper. So, Bharat could be set to play the final. Rahul could still play purely as a batter, as he has had success in England in the past, scoring hundreds there on both of India’s previous tours (2018 and 2021).