Former opener Gautam Gambhir gave his opinion on considering KL Rahul as a wicketkeeping option for India in Test. Rishabh Pant is facing a lot of scrutiny for his underwhelming batting display in the past few matches and his three-ball duck in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test was criticized by many.
Pant also failed to score big in the first innings of series decider as he threw his wicket away after getting a star and was dismissed on 27. After strings of poor scores, many fans feel that Rahul should keep the wickets for India in Test which will allow the team management to include another batter into the playing XI.
However, Gambhir feels that keeping the wicket for 150 overs and then playing the first ball as an opener is next to impossible.
Replying to a question by a fan on Star Sports, the Gambhir said: “I will just say Rahul as opener. If you see any wicketkeeper, if he keeps for 150 overs and then he has to play the first ball, it is next to impossible. It can work in ODIs and T20Is but you need a regular wicket-keeper in Test matches.”
In the last 14 Test innings, Pant has managed to hit just one half-century, while he got out on a single-digit score six times which includes a duck in Johannesburg.
Gambhir emphasized more on the matter and said Rahul as a wicketkeeper in Test can not be a long-term solution.
“Your wicketkeeper cannot be an opening batter in Tests, it can be a one-off case when you don’t have an opener. But it is not a long-term solution. So Rahul as keeper – definitely not, because you want him to score runs against the new ball and he has just started to get into the rhythm of Test cricket,” added Gambhir.
