KS Bharat vs Ishan Kishan - who should be India's wicketkeeper for the Australia Tests

With Rishabh Pant out of action, as he recuperates following his horrific car accident, KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have been named as the two keeper-batters in the Indian squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Sanju Samson was another name doing the rounds, but he has not been picked in the 17-man squad.

Pant’s absence is a massive setback for Team India, as he has been one of their biggest match-winners in red-ball cricket in the last couple of seasons. The left-handed batter was the standout performer when India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in 2020-21.

His counter-attacking 97 went a long way in India saving the Sydney Test. His batting heroics at The Gabba then lifted India to a historic triumph. Behind the wickets as well, Pant has made wonderful progress.

Although India will undoubtedly miss Pant’s dynamic presence during the big series against Australia, they need to find a replacement who can try and plug the gap to the greatest extent possible.

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Bharat or Kishan? A tough choice for Team India’s management

Ishan Kishan notched up the fastest men’s ODI double ton in December 2022.

If we go by pure cricketing logic, Bharat should be the first choice since he has been the Test team’s backup wicketkeeper ever since India decided to look beyond Wriddhiman Saha. But the case is not that simple because we are talking about replacing a massive match-winner like Pant.

Bharat is yet to make his Test debut, but he has experience of playing 86 first-class matches, scoring 4707 runs at an average of 37.95, with nine hundreds and 27 fifties. Kishan might not even have received a Test call-up if Pant was available. Speaking of his first-class numbers, he has scored 2985 runs in 48 matches at an average of 38.76, with six hundreds and 16 fifties.

There is not much to pick between the domestic stats of the two keeper-batters. However, the big quandary for the Indian think tank would be whether to go for the better keeper or the better batter.

In Pant’s case, they got a great combination as the Delhi dasher kept improving massively in both departments as he gained international experience.

Between Bharat and Kishan, the former is definitely the superior keeper. However, when it comes to a like-for-like replacement keeping the willow skills of Pant in mind, Kishan has the edge.

India can ignore neither department when they pick the playing XI for the first Test against Australia, which begins in Nagpur on February 9. It will be a tough call and a very close one at that.

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Recent red-ball form of Bharat and Kishan

If we look at Bharat’s red-ball form in recent games, he scored 77 in the second unofficial Test for India A against Bangladesh A in Sylhet in December last month. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, the Andhra stumper has registered scores of 0, 31, five, 89, and 80. He has been pretty consistent with the willow.

In contrast, Kishan featured in two Ranji Trophy matches for Jharkhand before joining the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series. He scored a brilliant 132 in the first innings against Kerala, but since that knock, he has registered scores of 22, 13, and 13.

The stats give Bharat an edge, but whether it will be enough to encourage the Indian management to pick him over Kishan remains debatable.

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What the experts say about Bharat vs Kishan debate

KS Bharat has experience of playing 86 first-class matches.

According to former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Kishan is a strong contender to replace Pant in Team India’s Test XI for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Speaking to PTI, he commented:

“Ishan Kishan has been selected in the Indian Test team on his recent form I think he will be a stronger contender for wicket-keeper batsman option. He is a left-handed batsman. When the player is in form, it’s not right to have them on the bench.”

MSK Prasad, former chairman of the national senior selection committee, has a differing view. According to him, Bharat deserves his chance and has proved himself worthy of the opportunity. He told TOI:

“He is a tough cricketer. Bharat has been a safe wicketkeeper after Saha and we had projected him as such – a guy who can replace Saha in the team. To Bharat’s misfortune, Pant came along and established himself in the team with some scintillating performances. Bharat couldn’t get the opportunities because of it but I think his time has finally come. He needs to grab it with both hands now.

“He thoroughly deserves it as he has been performing very consistently for India A and in domestic cricket during the last few years. He has made a definite case for himself to be in the Indian team. So, I am sure that he will carry that confidence with him. He has been around the Indian team for a couple of years, and he is comfortable with the team management and the set up.”

Analyzing all the permutations and combinations, the general feeling in the air is that Kishan looks set to take over the keeping duties in Test cricket for India in Pant’s absence.

Then again, Indian cricket is known for springing surprises. We will have to wait and watch.

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