‘You can see KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper’: Sunil Gavaskar predicts India’s line-up for the WTC final

KL Rahul has not been in the best of form and that saw him lose his position as the vice-captain of the Test side after the first two games against Australia. Rahul was also dropped from the final two Tests. But now that India has qualified for the World Test Championship, there are suggestions that Rahul should be backed over young KS Bharat. Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar suggested that Rahul should be kept in the final. Stating that Rahul had a good tour with the bat in England last time, Gavaskar reckoned Rohit and the team management should keep him in mind while picking the XI.

“You can see KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper. If he bats at No.5 or 6 in at the Oval (in the WTC final) then our batting will be stronger. Because he batted really well in England last year. He scored a century at the Lord’s. Keep KL Rahul in mind when you pick your XI for the WTC final,” Gavaskar said.

“The real test of a wicketkeeper is on pitches like these where the ball is turning. If you look at Travis Head’s dismissal, when the ball turned and hit his stumps, KS Bharat’s gloves were nowhere near the ball. That means, if the ball hadn’t hit the stumps, it would have resulted in 4 byes. This is definitely a cause for concern,” he added.

India vs Australia WTC final will take place at the Kensington Oval in the UK.