Opening batter Abhinav Mukund shed light on the current wicketkeeping conundrum that poses for Team India upon the unfortunate injury to Rishabh Pant. The selection committee has included KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan in the Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, with the latter receiving his maiden call-up.
Bharat was included in the mix once senior player Wriddhiman Saha was phased out of the Test squad. He is yet to make his debut due to Pant’s sparkling form but has been consistent on the domestic circuit.
Kishan, on the other hand, was rewarded for his white-ball form, emerging as a potential left-handed option in the batting order.
Weighing the options that Team India have among their ranks at the moment, Mukund said in an interview with News 18 Cricket Next:
Mukund continued:
Kishan is currently assuming keeping responsibilities for the ODI side in the absence of KL Rahul. The Karantaka-born player was not included in the squad for the series against New Zealand due to family commitments.
In a major overhaul of the ODI setup, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were not added for Team India’s ongoing home season.
Dhawan had a lean run of form after the tour of the Caribbean in August 2022 and the emergence of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan as potential options has not helped his cause.
Citing Dinesh Karthik as an example, Abhinav Mukund feels that it is too early to rule Dhawan out of the ODI setup completely. He said:
Dhawan has a huge Indian Premier League (IPL) season in sight after being named as the captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise following the mini-auction.
Who should be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper for the Border-Gavaskar series? Let us know what you think.
Also Read: “I think Sarfaraz has done enough to warrant a place in the Indian team” – Abhinav Mukund
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