India will play in the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the second time in as many seasons when they take on Australia in the summit clash, slated to be played at the Oval in London from June 7-11. India defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the fourth and final Test ended in a stalemate on Monday. While India might have clinched a fourth straight Test series win over Australia, there were plenty of issues which are needed to be addressed by the team management before the WTC final.
India rued the absence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who met with a horrific car accident last year, which has ruled him out of almost every cricket event taking place in 2023.
In Pant’s absence, KS Bharat kept the gloves for the team, but his performances were far from satisfactory.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar feels that the management should consider playing KL Rahul as keeper-batter in the WTC final. To further back his claim, Gavaskar highlighted Rahul’s performances during the tour of England in 2021.
“You can see KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper. If he bats at No.5 or 6 in at the Oval (in the WTC final) then our batting will be stronger. Because he batted really well in England last year. He scored a century at the Lord’s. Keep KL Rahul in mind when you pick your XI for the WTC final,” Gavaskar said during an interaction on Sports Tak.
Rahul, who was dropped from the team after the first two Tests against Australia, was also stripped of the vice-captaincy, amid his lean patch with the bat.