KL Rahul should be kept in mind while picking XI for the WTC final: Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes KL Rahul should be considered as the wicketkeeper of the side for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval in June. Rahul was dropped from the XI for the third and fourth Test of the home series against Australia following a run of poor performances. In the absence of regular wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat got an opportunity to make his debut. 

While he impressed behind the wickets, he managed to score just 101 runs from six innings with a highest score of 44. India picked Ishan Kishan as the second wicketkeeper for the series, but he did not get a chance.

"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 told Sports Tak.

Dinesh Karthik also believes giving Rahul the gloves for the one-off Test in June will add more depth to the XI.

"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. Whether they will select him in the XI or not is up to the selection committee but in England, you won't get pitches where the keeper has to stand up to the stumps. In that case, you can pick KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper and even Ishan Kishan can be considered. Their batting is better than Bharat's."

India won the four-match Test series against Australia 2-1 and as a result, booked their place in the WTC final.