“Must check their own records,” Gautam Gambhir takes a sly dig at ex-cricketers for questioning KS Bharat

Gambhir questioned those ex-cricketers who are too quick to judge KS Bharat for his not his up-to-mark performances in BGT 2023 series.


“Must check their own records,” Gautam Gambhir takes a sly dig at ex-cricketers for questioning KS Bharat

KS Bharat, Gautam Gambhir

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes India should go for KS Bharat as a wicketkeeper for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The WTC final is slated to take place in June this year at The Oval in England. India will square off against Australia in the showpiece event. 

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Without the services of regular keeper Rishabh Pant (as he injured himself during a car crash last year in December), India are dealing with the problem of whom to play as a wicketkeeper. KS Bharat who made his Test debut and played the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy series as India’s wicketkeeper received flak for dropping a few catches. 

And a couple of days ago, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar stated that India should back KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper because of his decent batting numbers in England. But Gautam Gambhir doesn’t agree with those who want Bharat’s exclusion from the team for the simple reason that a team should always play a proper keeper in Test cricket. 

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Gautam Gambhir says a team must play a proper wicketkeeper in Test cricket

Gautam Gambhir takes a sly dig at ex-cricketers for questioning KS Bharat
KS Bharat; KL Rahul

Gambhir questioned those ex-cricketers who are too quick to judge KS Bharat for his not his up-to-mark performances. The 41-year-old then said that even if KL Rahul is included in the team, he should do the job of a batsman and shouldn’t be used as a wicketkeeper. 

Former players questioning KS Bharat must check their own records. The longer runs they have got despite not being able to perform. In Test cricket, you should always play a proper keeper,” Gambhir told Sports Tak. 

England is a tough place to keep, where you can’t go with a part-time wicketkeeper. If you want to pick KL Rahul for the WTC final, then play him purely as a batsman, “Gambhir added.

In the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, KS Bharat registered figures of 8, 6, 23*, 17, 3, and 44. KL Rahul was sacked as India’s vice-captain after the second Test and didn’t play the last two games. In the first two Tests, he managed to score just 20, 17, and 1. In his place, Shubman Gill opened the innings alongside Rohit Sharma in the third and fourth Tests. 

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KS Bharat is not part of the three-match ODI series between the same countries. But Rahul was given the chance and became the savior when he rescued India in a tricky run-chase with his unbeaten 75 runs. But he couldn’t do the same in the ODI which the visitors won. The decider will be played tomorrow in Chennai. 

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