Indian international cricketer KL Rahul will not be taking up the role of wicketkeeper against England, Indian team coach Rahul Dravid announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Mumbai.
On January 25, the England test match gets underway in Hyderabad. For the first two tests, the Indian side has selected KL Rahul, Dhuruv Jurel, and Srikar Bharat as their wicketkeepers.
After making his test series debut against South Africa, KL Rahul was first contemplated for the wicketkeeping role. However, Rahul Dravid, a former Indian batsman and coach, has since confirmed that KL Rahul will not wear the wicketkeeping gloves when the three lions are playing.
Rahul Dravid said at today’s press conference, “KL Rahul will not play as a wicketkeeper in the test series against England considering the condition and duration of the series.”
Now that Dravid has ruled out KL Rahul from wicketkeeping, the contenders for wicketkeeping will be either Srikar Bharat or Dhruv Jurel.
Kannanur Lokesh Since 2020, Rahul has served as the wicketkeeper for the Indian squad in one-day internationals, and he has advanced considerably.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) saw Rahul’s progress, especially in the 2023 World Cup, where he excelled, and decided to give him a tryout for wicketkeeping in the Test series against South Africa.
Despite their strong wicketkeeping performance, Bharat, who has only participated in five test matches so far—all five against Australia—was unable to score any runs during the series.
On the other hand, Dhuruv Jurel, a young player from Uttar Pradesh, is yet to make his international debut and it is anticipated that he might not be included as the wicketkeeper for this series.