Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has revealed the name of the wicketkeeper he would prefer to replace Rishabh Pant in the upcoming Test series against Australia. The much-awaited four-Test Border-Gavaskar series is scheduled to get underway next month.
And even before the start of the series, India have suffered a huge blow in the form of Pant’s absence. The wicketkeeper-batsman is currently on the sidelines after being involved in a danger car crash a few weeks ago.
Pant is set to spend a good amount of time on the sidelines. And while the Indian team-management will be hoping that the youngster returns to action soon, they will have to find his replacement in the crucial series against Australia.
Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant’s replacement:
Replacing Rishabh Pant won’t be an easy task for the Indian team-management. Pant is arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman in Tests at the moment. The southpaw has performed well across the world and has the ability to singlehandedly change the fate of any match in a matter of few overs.
With Pant sidelined, India have picked uncapped Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat in the squad. And while only time will tell who gets the chance to keep the wickets against Australia, Aakash Chopra believes Bharat would be a better replacement for Pant.
Explaining his decision, the former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Bharat can bat and handle the bowling of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja as a wicketkeeper on Indian pitches.
“It is really unfortunate that Rishabh Pant isn’t available for us at the moment. He is the kind of player who can play in all formats and is an excellent one too. What I feel is that we will see various players across the different formats. I would say KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan, both are in contention for Test cricket,” Aakash Chopra said on JioCinema’s sports show ‘Aakashvani’.
“If you need a better keeper then KS Bharat but if you need an explosive left-hand batter because we don’t have a lefty in the top order, then I would say we can say, Ishan Kishan. Personally, my preference will be KS Bharat because he can keep the scoreboard ticking in Tests and we need someone who is going to be able to handle Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja’s bowling behind the wicket.
“In T20s, It’s going to be a toss-up between Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson and ODIs will obviously feature KL Rahul behind the wicket, there is no question about it,” he added.
While Kishan is new to the Test team, Bharat is no stranger to being picked up as Pant’s backup in the Test side. A regular member of India A team in recent years, Bharat has an average of almost 48 in first-class games. But just like Kishan, he is also yet to play a Test.
Talking about Kishan, he is a regular feature in India’s limited-overs teams and would be hoping to become a key member of the Test team too. The left-handed batsman has a first-class average of 38.76.