Kishan or Bharat? India’s keeper pick for WTC final is going to be intriguing

The big point of debate right now ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final is who will be India’s wicket-keeper.

Since the unfortunate accident of Rishabh Pant, by far India’s best Test batter over the last couple of years, there has been a persistent doubt. In India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), India preferred to go with Srikar Bharat instead of the more flamboyant Ishan Kishan.

The writing was on the wall because Bharat was the better keeper and at home on the spinning tracks, he would have been more useful. Bharat played one good knock at Delhi in a tricky chase which helped seal India’s lead in the series.

But everyone compares Bharat’s batting to that of Kishan and Pant. Bharat may not be as flashy as the two left-handers but has a value of his own. If Lokesh Rahul had been fit, there would have been a campaign to get him to keep in this WTC final.

The only downside of Bharat playing is that he has not played any form of cricket since the time the BGT ended at home in early March. He was in the Gujarat Titans squad, but with India’s erstwhile Test wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha donning the gloves, Bharat was on the sidelines. He did keep in one game when Saha was injured, but that apart Bharat has been training only in nets.

That could be the biggest pitfall of picking someone like Bharat in the XI. But Test cricket requires proper wicket-keepers unlike the shorter formats, hence the team management may prefer to go with Bharat.

Also remember that with Shreyas Iyer out injured, Suryakumar Yadav out of favour and no Pant, the middle to lower-order lacks the flourish that is needed in a place like England. In 2018 and 2021, Pant played a huge part with his batting for India against England.

Someone like that would mean Kishan coming into fray. The good thing for Kishan is that he did not miss a single game for Mumbai Indians and is in match play right now. So the team management may be tempted to pick him over Bharat.

One point to note is that Kishan was not picked in the original squad which had Rahul. Kishan was picked only when Rahul was ruled out, which means he was never in the reckoning in the first place. But it could also mean that the team think-tank is actively considering playing Kishan because that could be the only logical reason for picking him.

Whatever it is the decision of the Indian think-tank is going to be an interesting one which will keep everyone interested in the coming days.