KL Rahul looked out of sorts in the Border Gavaskar series against Australia in the 3 innings he played. He made just 38 runs during the first two Test matches. After that, he was dropped from the 3rd and fourth Test matches.
The Indian team lost the third match by 9 wickets in Indore. He was removed from the vice-captaincy job before the Test series against Australia. He is currently wicketkeeping in ODI Series against Australia and did a brilliant job in the first ODI with an unbeaten 75 to give India a win after the top order failed.
With the ICC 50 over World Cup coming up and Pant might not be fit due to a horrifying accident on 30 December, KL Rahul could not be an ideal option as a wicketkeeper.
Here we look at the 5 wicketkeepers who can replace KL Rahul in Indian Cricket Team:
- Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan looks like a promising prospect for India as a wicketkeeper. He is known for his hard-hitting abilities and is known to be a great fielder.
He announced himself with a double century against Bangladesh in the 3rd ODI match at Chattorgam last year. Since that knock, Kishan struggled with single-digit scores across ODI and T20I formats. Ishan Kishan was included in the squad for the Test series against Australia but did not get a chance as KS Bharat played all the matches.
Kishan could be an option for Indian Team as a wicketkeeper as it will release KL Rahul from the pressure and also bat under if Men in Blue batting fails.
- KS Bharat
KS Bharat performed well as a wicketkeeper in the Test series against Australia. He kept brilliantly in the first two Test matches in Nagpur and New Delhi where the pitches were difficult to bat on.
Bharat did not bat well but contributed valuable runs in the first innings of the fourth Test match at Ahmedabad. He has not featured for India in the 20 and 50 over format, KS Bharat can be handy with hitting abilities.
KS Bharat has been brilliant for Andhra Pradesh in first-class cricket. With the passage of time, he will become impressive and an ideal option for wicketkeeping instead of KL Rahul.
- Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has not been given a long run in the Indian One-day international and T20I squad. He proved his worth during the 2022 season for the Indian team. Samson scored 284 runs from 9 innings (10 matches) with an excellent average of 71.
During that time, he hit 2 half-centuries with an unbeaten score of 86 in the first One-day international against South Africa at Lucknow taking India almost home from a tough situation.
He is a handy wicketkeeping option for Team India and can make quick stumpings. Samson led Rajasthan Royals to the finals of IPL 2022 where they lost to eventual champions Gujarat Titans.
Samson could be given a long run keeping with Ishan Kishan struggling for form and could be an ideal option instead of KL Rahul.
- Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson has impressive numbers in the domestic circuit for Saurashtra. He is known to put the opponent bowlers under pressure with his attacking style and could be an ideal option with his wicketkeeping skills.
Jackson has featured in 90 First class matches with 6608 runs with 20 centuries and 36 half-centuries with the highest score of 186. He has played 77 T20 matches for Saurashtra with 1690 runs including 1 century and 11 half-centuries with the best score of 106 not out.
He played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 edition but did not feature in many matches. Jackson played a brilliant knock in the finals to take Saurashtra home during the 2022/23 Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament.
Jackson has kept wickets for Saurashtra also and could be an ideal option if given a chance in the Indian Team, especially in the limited-overs format.
- Narayan Jagadeesan
Narayan Jagadeesan has done brilliantly well for Tamil Nadu in the 2022/23 Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. He finished as the leading run-getter with 877 runs from 8 matches including record-breaking 5 centuries and the best score of 277.
Jagadeesan is an attacking batter and can put pressure on opponent bowlers with his power hitting. He has kept wickets for Tamil Nadu in the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy season where Tamil Nadu could not qualify for the knockout stage.
He could be given a chance in the T20I series against Ireland this year and hope he can grab the opportunity with both hands. With the experience he has across all formats in the domestic season, he could be given a chance.
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