WI vs India: Wicket-keeper batsman Kona Srikar Bharat in contention for a call-up in the Test squad

The MSK Prasad-led selection panel will meet on the 21st of July to select the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies next month and Kona Srikar Bharat seems to be a candidate who might get a call-up. The incumbent, Rishabh Pant will continue to be the first-choice wicket-keeper for the upcoming tour of the West Indies but the selectors are reported to be pondering over the back-up option.

Veteran Wriddhiman Saha has made a comeback from a shoulder injury and was even named in the India A squad for the unofficial Test series against West Indies A. He had suffered the injury prior to the Cape Town test during the South Africa tour in 2018. The rehabilitation process took longer than expected and this resulted in Saha making his comeback only after a one and half year absence during the Indian Premier League.

Before his injury, the 34-year-old was a serviceable wicket-keeper batsman and scored 1164 runs in 32 Test matches while taking 75 catches and effecting 10 stumpings. He was particularly admired for his wicket-keeping skills.

Even though Saha has regained full fitness, MSK Prasad and Co are said to be looking towards a younger option in the form of Kona Srikar Bharat, the wicket-keeper batsman from Andhra. In his last 11 first-class matches for the India A team, Bharat has had a fruitful time by scoring 686 runs with three centuries and two fifties.

The aggressive wicket-keeper batsman has been in the reckoning for a national team call-up for a few years given that he has been a consistent performer at the domestic level. So far, Bharat has scored 3798 runs in 65 first-class matches.

The preference of Srikar Bharat gives an indication that the selectors are perhaps looking towards the future and this may go against Saha's attempt to make a comeback at the international level.

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