The India and England five-match test series kicks off on January 25th with the first test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, with Virat Kohli not playing the first two test matches, citing personal reasons. The Indian side is already looking a little weak in the top order, though he will return to the team from the third test. The gap needs to be filled with someone who could provide the same strength to the batting line-up. KL Rahul, who had a brilliant run as a wicketkeeper for India against South Africa, will not be guarding the wickets against England as head coach Rahul Dravid is looking to give this role to either KS Bharat or Dhruv Jurel.
KS Bharat has already played five test matches for India, where he was the primary wicketkeeper for the team, but his performance with the bat didn’t impress much, so there are chances that Dhruv Jurel will be included in the playing XI for the first test match, and that will mark his debut in international cricket.
KL Rahul will not play as wicketkeeper in Test series against England considering the conditions and duration of the series. We have picked two other wicket-keepers, and obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw the series. But considering five Test matches (against England) and playing in these conditions, the selection will be between the two other keepers we have,
Rahul Dravid said
According to Rahul Dravid, India needs a good stumper behind the wickets for the series to support the bowling attack of the Indian team, and that would give KL Rahul more time to focus on his batting.
The nature of pitches in India makes it mandatory for a wicketkeeper to stand up to the wickets against spinners, in this case, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, a role that should be assigned to a specialist stumper,
He added
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