Gautam Gambhir, former Indian cricketer and current commentator, has urged Team India to back wicketkeeper KS Bharat for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Bharat had recently come under fire after dropping a few catches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Some former cricketers and fans had proposed playing KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper-batter in the WTC final. However, Gambhir believes that Bharat is still finding his feet in the team and should be given more chances to prove himself rather than be hastily dropped from the side. Gambhir stated:
“Former players questioning KS Bharat must check their own records. The longer runs they have got despite not being able to perform. In Test cricket, you should always play a proper keeper.
“England is a tough place to keep, where you can’t go with a part-time wicketkeeper. If you want to pick KL Rahul for the WTC final, then play him purely as a batsman.”
Gambhir explains the difference a specialist wicketkeeper makes
Gambhir believes that India must avoid any unnecessary errors in a big match such as the World Test Championship final. He is confident that Bharat has already made a few mistakes in taking catches, but he remains a dependable option as a wicketkeeper. If India wants to be successful, it must ensure that all catches are taken and no costly mistakes are made. He said:
“Ex-cricketers should know the importance of keeping in Test cricket. One dropped catch can change the Test match. If a keeper drops a catch you know that he is a regular keeper, but if a part-time keeper drops a catch, you will keep scratching your head the entire five days that, oh we should have played a proper wicketkeeper.”
It would be interesting to see whether they will choose Rahul or trust Bharat’s experience in the crucial game against Australia.
