While most believe Bharat should be picked because of his experience of playing multi-day cricket, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh thinks otherwise.
London: Days ahead of the much-awaited World Test Championship final 2023, there is a lot of speculation over who will keep wickets for India in the absence of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. The two options India have are – Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat. While most believe Bharat should be picked because of his experience of playing multi-day cricket, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh thinks otherwise.
Harbhajan feels the Indian team should hand him a debut as he is a ‘direct’ replacement for Pant.
“Why Ishan Kishan should be considered ahead of Bharat? I think this will add more strength to batting as Ishan Kishan can tackle the new ball much better than Bharat. He is an opener too and is in good form. So if the second new ball is introduced after 80 overs and Ishan walks out to bat he can play as an opener,” he said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
“Rishabh Pant is an explosive batter and Ishan also has the same quality. Although Bharat is superb behind the wickets, I don’t have much confidence in Bharat’s batting,” added Harbhajan.
Harbhajan’s comments come days after he backed Bharat over Kishan for the WTC final.
“No, I don’t think so. KS Bharat has been playing for India now. If it were Wriddhiman Saha, then I would say yes, play him. He has more experience and he’s a better keeper. If KL Rahul was fit, I would’ve played him over KS Bharat as well,” Harbhajan had earlier said during a conversation on Star Sports.
