With the Indian Premier League (IPL) done and dusted, focus has firmly shifted to the United Kingdom (UK) where India are all set to take on Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final at the Oval in London from June 7-11. This will be India's second straight appearance in the WTC final after they had lost to New Zealand in the summit clash in the inaugural 2019-21 cycle. The Men in Blue would be determined for a result in their favour this time around but would be without the services of their preferred wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant for this important game.
Notably, Pant, who has been at the forefront of many a memorable India wins especially in Test match cricket in his short career, continues to regain match fitness after having sustained near-fatal injuries in a car crash in December last year. In his absence, India have backed KS Bharat as the stumper but former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh reckons India could have gone ahead with a different option rather than Bharat. Harabhajan said that India could have easily gone ahead with the vastly experienced Wriddhiman Saha with Pant unavailable for selection. The legendary India off-spinner even said that had KL Rahul been fit, he would have rated him over Bharat despite Rahul not used to keeping wickets in first-class cricket. The 42-year-old did not pick Ishan Kishan who is part of the squad as a repalcement for an injured Rahul.
"KS Bharat has been playing for India now. If it were Wriddhiman Saha, then I would say yes, play him. He has more experience and he's a better keeper. If KL Rahul was fit, I would've played him over KS Bharat as well," the Indian Express quoted Harbhajan as saying.
It is pertinent to note that Saha, who was once an India regular, has not managed to find a place in the Indian team since February last year. Saha had a great IPL 2023 where he was not only at his usual best with his glovework but provided great utility to Gujarat Titans (GT) at the top of the order, helping the side get off to good starts. However, Bharat has been given the nod ahead of Saha with the selectors wanting to look at someone for the long run.