Picture Credit: Twitter
After India lost their World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 against Australia at The Oval in London, there has been harshest criticism coming towards the players from all corners, whether it's from the experts or fans. Recently, Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, has commented that wicket-keeper batter KS Bharat, who had a tough outing in the WTC Final, is not as special as what others think.
It was on June 11, when Team India were defeated by Australia with a 209-run margin, thanks to outstanding performances with the bat by Travis Head and Steve Smith, who got great support from all the bowlers. With this impressive win, the Australians joined their Trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand as the second winners of the WTC.
Shortly afterward, Sanjay Manjrekar, who has been one of the mainstays in the cricket commentary world for decades, was quoted as saying, “I am not convinced if KS Bharat is special.” His comments came in the aftermath of the flow show from the 29-year-old player with the bat and behind the stumps.
The Andhra-based cricketer scored only five runs off 15 deliveries in the first innings for Team India in the WTC Final before getting castled by Scott Boland off a straight delivery aimed at the stumps. He did fare a bit better with the bat in the second innings, scoring 23 runs off 41 deliveries with two boundaries, before slogging one up straight to Nathan Lyon.
Meanwhile, behind the stumps, with the gloves on, KS Bharat wasn’t at his best as he conceded 22 byes across two Australian batting innings. Even while completing five catches in the Ultimate Test, he was seemingly struggling to gather the ball cleanly at times, from the fast bowlers and spinners alike.