KL Rahul’s form has been a hot topic for debate in recent times. The 30 year old has endured a barren run with the bat for over one year. After yet another failure during the Delhi test, which yielded just 18 runs, the calls for Rahul to be axed are strong. Many experts have advocated for the inclusion of Shubman Gill in the XI.
The story so far –
India may have taken a 2-0 unbeatable lead in the 4 match series. There is a lot of question ahead of the Indore test. KS Bharat has been in the line of fire with the gloves behind the stumps to the Indian spinners. Ahead of the 3rd test, the 29 year old was in the line of fire while taking questions from the media.
Bharat has his say on the Gill and Rahul debate –
With less then 24 hours to go for the 3rd test at Indore, the media asked KS Bharat to name his choice between Gill and KL Rahul. The 29 year old though decided to dead bat the question and said “that is team management’s call not mine”
Making a statement on the field –
KS Bharat was given the nod over Ishan Kishan to make his test debut at Nagpur. The 29 year old has taken to test cricket like a duck to water. Bharat has been a safe wicket keeper and has effected some smart dismissals. With the bat, Bharat has scored 37 runs with 23 of those runs coming unbeaten in the 4th innings Delhi test.
Speaking about his batting, Bharat said “the key for any batter is obviously you have to be a little more positive on these wickets. As a batter, you have to look for scoring opportunities because, at the end of the day, this game is all about getting runs. So that is what I told myself and that is what the management also told me.”
Bharat takes a little dig at Australia –
With the gloves, KS Bharat has been mostly steady with 5 dismissals from 2 tests. He has been vocal behind the stumps like any wicket keeper. Unlike Pant though, Bharat doesn’t engage in talks with the opposition. Bharat though did take a dig at the Australians for all pitch talk.
The Indian wicket keeper said “I enjoyed whatever I did in Delhi, My job was to keep it simple. You just need to back your defense. The wickets are not unplayable, you have to apply urself and back your defense. There is definitely scope for batters to score”