Ravi Shastri, the former Indian captain and coach, has weighed in on the potential selection dilemma regarding who will be the wicketkeeper for Men in Blue for the WTC Final 2023. In the latest episode of the ICC Review, the 1983 Cricket World Cup winner for Team India revealed that his choice for wicket-keeper would be KS Bharat, when India takes the field against Australia on June 7 at The Oval in London for the summit clash of Test cricket.
The 29-year-old wicket-keeper from Andhra in domestic cricket has made his Test debut for India at Nagpur in the recent series against Australia at home. Bharat took part in all four test matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), where he scored 101 runs in six innings at a 20.2 average, along with seven catches and one stumping in the wicket-keeping role.
During his interview on the ICC Review, Ravi Shastri talked about the wicket-keeping conundrum for Team India. He was quoted as saying, “See, that's another tight one (decision). Now, if two spinners are playing, then you would want Bharat to play.”
Then, the 60-year-old shared his opinion about who should get picked by Indian team management as a wicket-keeper in the WTC Final and said, “You have to see who's a better keeper. Is it Bharat or Ishan Kishan? Now, the fact that Bharat was given a run against Australia, where he played all the Test matches, I think he would be the obvious choice to go with.”
As mentioned by Ravi Shastri, the nearest competitor for KS Bharat in the wicket-keeping role for Team India in the WTC Final is fellow squad member Ishan Kishan. The Southpaw has been an Indian international in limited-overs cricket for the last couple of years. He scored a double century in ODIs against Bangladesh at Chattogram this past year.