IND vs ENG: Why KS Bharat fits the bill as wicketkeeper for England Test series at home | Cricket News
In 2019, more than a year after Rishabh Pant made his debut, as South Africa came visiting, India sprung a surprise. At Visakhapatnam, they drafted in another wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha ahead of Pant. Saha hadn’t played a Test for 20 months. On turning pitches, where the ball can do all sorts of tricks, they valued the primary skills of Saha over what Pant offered with the bat. With their spinners capable of creating plenty of chances they didn’t want any of them to go begging. And five years later, despite a new team management and captain in place, in the pearl city of Hyderabad, India are fully valuing the gem of a wicketkeeper they have in KS Bharat. Not even the presence of a brittle middle-order in the absence of Virat Kohli for the first two Tests against England is making Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid go with KL Rahul as a fill-in and rope in an extra batsman in Rajat Patidar or Rinku Singh. Even when Kohli was around, the form of Shubman Gill …