Rahul Shifts Fokus: Specialist Role & Bharat vs. Jurel to Keep for India vs. England

KS Bharat or youngster Dhruv Jurel would take care of wicketkeeping duties during the series against England while KL Rahul is expected to play as a specialist middle-order batsman. On January 25, the first Test gets underway in Hyderabad.

The presstime has learned that head coach Rahul Dravid and top selector Ajit Agarkar discussed the decision to relieve Rahul of his twin responsibilities in Cape Town, and that the matter was covered in detail at the selection committee meeting on Friday night.

Because having a wicketkeeper in the starting eleven takes away from their ability to play an additional batter, who is frequently beneficial to the team, the selectors were undecided about including him or her. However, Rahul's batting skills haven't been put to the test against elite players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on fast tracks, and the team management isn't prepared to take a chance.

Although Rahul kept wickets in the two Test matches played in South Africa, the obstacles on Indian surfaces will be different. The selectors don't want to take any chances because any mistakes could have severe consequences.

Rahul will also be able to concentrate only on his batting and stay healthy. He had to miss nearly five months of cricket after undergoing back surgery in May of last year.

After Virat Kohli, Rahul was India's second-highest run scorer in the series with a century in the first Test in Centurion. India's strength in any home series has been their batting, and the think tank doesn't want to compromise on that.

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Under the circumstances, India will have to use five batters, and Shreyas Iyer might not be able to play. If playing a specialized keeper doesn't work in their favour, they still have the option to revert back to Rahul after the first two Tests.

With all of the Test matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played at home last season, Bharat is the clear favorite, but Jurel has already garnered a lot of attention with his batting and keeping prowess. The 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh cricketer has participated in 15 first-class games, scoring at an average of 46.47.

Unless they want to add a fast bowler to the starting XI and stick with turning wickets, India will need to field three spinners and two pacers.

Shubman Gill's standing in the Test format is also in doubt in light of his recent string of low performance. He has just once reached the 30s since his century against Australia in Ahmedabad in March of last year. Gill may not be able to continue in the series if Iyer maintains his strong record against spin.

But Ishan Kishan is still disregarded. Recently, Dravid stated that the young player had not been notified of his availability following his desire for a sabbatical in South Africa and that he would need to establish himself in domestic cricket before returning. Even while it is the typical scenario for a cricket player returning to the game, it doesn't seem to hold true for all of them.

When Mohammed Shami becomes available during the England series, will the team management ask him to participate in a Ranji Trophy match and demonstrate his fitness?

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.