Dravid, while addressing the press on Tuesday said that KL Rahul would not play as a keeper in the five-match series against England.

“Rahul will not be playing as a wicket-keeper in this series and we are clear about that in the selection itself. We have picked two other wicket-keepers and obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw the series,” Dravid said in a press conference.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli withdraws from first two Tests against England citing personal reasons

As India’s star cricketer Virat Kohli will not join the squad for the first two tests due to personal reasons, Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are likely to feature in the XI. Rahul is likely to play only as a specialist batter like Iyer.

Dravid said the choice would be between Bharat and Jurel, on being asked who would do the wicketkeeping for India. “But considering five Test matches (against England) and playing in these conditions the selection will be between the two other keepers we have,” he explained.

Looking at KL Rahul’s stats, he has been a designated wicketkeeper only thrice in his 92 First-Class matches and none of those appearances came in India.

With India playing against England and Virat not part of the squad, it might not have been wise for the team management to pick Rahul as wicketkeeper.

Bharat has done reasonably well in the role after Rishabh Pant was injured in a car accident. Though he has not made a mark with the bat, his efforts behind the wickets cannot be brushed aside. He has amassed 287 catches and 33 stumpings from 91 First-Class matches.

Also, Bharat may get the nod as wicketkeeper-batter for the series against England. as his unbeaten 116 helped India A draw the first unofficial ‘Test’ against England Lions at Ahmedabad recently.

India vs England Test Match: Dates

-1st Test, Hyderabad, 25 – 29 January

-2nd Test, Visakhapatnam, 02 – 06 February

-3rd Test, Rajkot,15 – 19 February

-4th Test, Ranchi, 23 – 27 February

-5th Test, Dharamsala, 7 – 11 March

India vs England Test Match: Squads

England Test squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root and Mark Wood.

Indian Squad for the first two Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan.

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Published: 23 Jan 2024, 08:44 PM IST