4 young wicket-keepers India should consider instead of Dinesh Karthik in upcoming away Test matches

#1 Rishabh Pant

England Lions v India A - Day Four

Rishabh Pant is the brightest long-term prospect for India as a wicketkeeper. Pant has time and again showed that he has the X-factor that selectors look for in great limited overs cricketer. Even in the IPL, he put up a great show the bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils.

Pant first came into limelight with his performances for India Under 19 in the 2016 World Cup. He attracted a lot of attention by scoring a record-breaking 24-ball 75, the fastest half-century of the tournament, against Nepal. In the very next match, he smashed a century against Namibia. Incidentally, he was bought by Delhi for 1.9 Cr in IPL auction on the very same day of his century.

After establishing a name for himself in the limited overs setup, Pant is steadily improving in the longest format. In first-class cricket, he scored 1744 runs at an average of 54.50. The interesting thing about his batting in 4-day cricket is his strike rate of 95.24. The dashing southpaw from Uttarakhand also has a Ranji trophy triple century in his kitty, which he scored at a tender age of 18.

Recently, Pant has shown some good form in red ball cricket. The young lad has notched up three half-centuries in four innings playing first-class cricket in England, two against England Lions and one against West Indies A. The two half-centuries against England Lions are a testament to his caliber as he was the only Indian player who could perform consistently when the rest of the team faltered in a 253 run loss.

Pant was rightly rewarded with a national call-up for his consistent performances across all formats. He is currently the backup wicketkeeper for Dinesh Karthik in the Indian squad but if Karthik doesn't step up in the next few games Pant might make his Test debut sooner than expected.