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KL Rahul's sensational return to Test cricket was in the form of a wicketkeeper-batter in the recent series against South Africa. He gave the team great balance with his batting ability at No. 6, especially in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
However, the team management reportedly do not want to put the burden of wicketkeeping on the 31-year-old in the home Tests against England. A BCCI source told the Times of India that the think tank is backing Rahul to play as a pure batter.
While KL Rahul's workload would certainly be reduced if he is relieved from wicketkeeping duties, here are three reasons why India should not give up the idea of him keeping against England already:
#3 KL Rahul is better as a WK-BAT package out of all available options
Apart from KL Rahul, India have named KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel as the other wicketkeepers in the Test squad. In five Tests, Bharat has averaged just 18.42 with 129 runs to his name. He has also been a bit sloppy with the glove work.
Jurel, on the other hand, might just be named as an understudy given his inexperience. He has 15 first-class games under his belt and might just be in the squad because of Ishan Kishan's unavailability.
The team management could have a look at Rahul the wicketkeeper for a Test before taking a call for the long term as he seems the better option among the three.
#2 India might need to drop Shreyas Iyer or Shubman Gill
With the likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli certainties in the batting line-up, the team management might have to drop Shubman Gill or Shreyas Iyer if they need to fit in KL Rahul. Both Gill and Iyer haven't had a great time in Tests of late.
However, the duo arguably need at least two more Tests in Indian conditions for a call to be taken on their spot. Gill scored a hundred in India's previous home Test and Iyer is arguably one of the best batters of spin in the team. Rahul might have to wait for his opportunity if he doesn't play as a wicketkeeper-batter.
#1 KL Rahul has experience of keeping wickets in Indian conditions
The ball is expected to turn a lot more in the Tests against England than it did in the 2023 World Cup in India. However, KL Rahul showed glimpses of his ability to keep wickets in the games that the Men in Blue played on slow tracks like Chennai and Lucknow.
Keeping wickets on pitches with a lot of turn and bounce is certainly not easy. But with Ishan Kishan not in the squad and Rishabh Pant still injured, India might want to have a look at how Rahul performs with the gloves before writing off that aspect completely.
