"They must check their own records" - Gautam Gambhir slams former cricketers for doubting KS Bharat's wicketkeeping

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir believes Team India should back wicketkeeper KS Bharat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June. Bharat received a lot of criticism for dropping a couple of regulation chances during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

Some fans and former cricketers have also considered the possibility of playing KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper-batter. However, Gambhir doesn't agree with the suggestion as he feels Bharat is being judged as a wicketkeeper-batter too soon.

Speaking to Sports Tak, here's what Gautam Gambhir had to say about KS Bharat's wicketkeeping and KL Rahul's place in the WTC final:

"Former players questioning KS Bharat must check their own records. The longer runs they have got despite not being able to perform. In Test cricket, you should always play a proper keeper.

"England is a tough place to keep, where you can’t go with a part-time wicketkeeper. If you want to pick KL Rahul for the WTC final, then play him purely as a batsman."

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Gautam Gambhir on difference a specialist wicketkeeper makes

Gautam Gambhir believes that in a crucial one-off match like the WTC final, Team India cannot afford any unforced errors like a dropped catch. He feels that although Bharat has dropped a couple of catches, he still gives assurance as a regular wicketkeeper.

On this, Gambhir stated:

"Ex-cricketers should know the importance of keeping in Test cricket. One dropped catch can change the Test match. If a keeper drops a catch you know that he is a regular keeper, but if a part-time keeper drops a catch, you will keep scratching your head the entire five days that, oh we should have played a proper wicketkeeper."

It would be interesting to see whether India really go ahead with Rahul as their wicketkeeper for the WTC final, or back Bharat for the crucial encounter against Australia.