KL Rahul‘s presence behind the stumps during the ODI World Cup gave the Indian team the balance but the stylish Karnataka right-hander is unlikely to don the big gloves in white-ball cricket going forward. The national selection committee is expected to meet on January 19, a day after the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, to select the 15-member provisional squad for the Champions Trophy and there will be some debate on two fringe selections – the second keeper’s slot and the wrist spinner in case Kuldeep Yadav fails to get fit in time.
In the case of keeper’s slot, Rishabh Pant is the first choice by a country mile but the second keeper’s slot could be a three-way fight between Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. As of now, it looks like Jurel could win the battle.
Samson could lose out as he decided to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kishan played 27 ODIs to score 933 runs at an average of 42-plus with a double hundred and seven half-centuries to show for his efforts.
But he has fallen a bit out of favour with the current selection committee after skipping domestic cricket last year, which led to him losing his BCCI annual central contract.
Kishan has had a modest Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 316 runs in seven games with a single hundred against one of the NE states.
While Kishan was a part of the World Cup squad, young UP and Rajasthan Royals man Jurel has impressed one and all and could certainly walk in as the second keeper.
Jurel has been kept in the T20 squad for England also as Sanju Samson’s understudy. While he has made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe, his selection in the shortest format is significant as the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, seemed to be keen on keeping him in the white-ball scheme of things.
It is understood that going forward, Pant and Jurel could be one and two for India in Tests and ODIs, while Samson is believed to be only suited for the T20 version where he has scored three centuries in the fag end of 2024.
Bishnoi vs Varun
Kuldeep Yadav is slated to appear for a fitness test and match simulation soon but Tamil Nadu’s Varun Chakravarthy, with 18 wickets in six games, and Gujarat’s Ravi Bishnoi with 14 wickets from six games are both in contention having shown their wares in T20Is for India.
Varun has two five-wicket hauls for Tamil Nadu and has taken his wickets at an economy rate of 4.36. But his ability to bowl on flat decks at the Dubai Stadium is still a point of debate. Besides, his fielding, which is not exactly international standard, is some sort of a liability at the international level.
Bishnoi, who mostly bowls googlies, was very impressive as he went at an economy rate of 3.64 during the VHT campaign. Add to it, he has a very powerful arm, can field anywhere in the deep and is a fantastic catcher.
While Chakravarthy has played under Gautam Gambhir at KKR, Bishnoi has also turned up under India’s head coach during his time at the Lucknow Super Giants.
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