During an episode of The ICC Review, veteran wicket-keeper-bat Dinesh Karthik expressed his belief that KS Bharat is the obvious choice to play in the WTC Final. Karthik suggested that it would be a challenging task to expect Ishan Kishan to make his Test debut on such a significant stage. Ishan was included in the WTC Final squad as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul.
Meanwhile, former India coach Ravi Shastri acknowledged that the team management would face a tough decision, but he also supported Bharat to start if India opts for two spinners.
“I think Bharat will be a pretty straightforward choice because playing Ishan Kishan in his debut and a Test match straight in the World Test Championship Final is asking a bit too much,” Karthik said in the ICC Review.
“And the fact that KS Bharat probably tips the scale in favour of himself just a little bit with this keeping edge that he has got. So I do think they will go in with KS Bharat for the final,” he added.
“That’s another tight one. Now, if two spinners are playing, then you would want Bharat to play. You have to see who’s a better keeper. The fact that Bharat was given a run against Australia, where he played all the Test matches, I think he would be the obvious choice to go with. There’s not much there. It’s not that one guy is far better than the other,” said Shastri.
India’s team management faces a dilemma over the selection of a keeper, with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul unavailable due to injury and recovery. The toss up is between Bharat and Ishan.