As we the World Test Championship final between India and Australia starting at The Oval next Wednesday, the Ishan Kishan vs KS Bharat debate continues to gather steam. With KL Rahul out indefinitely, the competition between Kishan and Bharat as India’s specialist wicket-keeper for the WTC final has grown. Bharat was part of the Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia not too long ago, but his returns were far from impressive – 101 runs from 4 Tests at an average of 20. He looked susceptible to the spin of Nathan Lyon , Todd Murphy and against the brand new red ball. Even so, despite cracks in his batting, Bharat is regarded as one of the best keepers in the country, giving him the edge over Kishan – who is yet to play Test cricket for India.
In such a scenario, former India wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia weighed in on the Kishan vs Bharat debate and gave his confidence to the latter. Mongia reckons India need a specialist keeper in England where the Dukes swing the ball and do a lot more.
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“Bharat has done nothing wrong”, feels Mongia
Having kept wicket himself in England, Mongia feels staying with Bharat is the right call rather than immediately subjecting Kishan to the testing English conditions.
“I will play Bharat as a specialist keeper in England because he has done well. One bad game does not make him a bad keeper. He is a specialist keeper; he has done well over a period of time. What limited whatever chances he got. came into the Indian team, he did pretty well to keep his place,” Mongia said on Star Sports.
Keeping wicket in England is not the easiest task: Mongia
Kishan’s emergence as a limited-overs batsman earned him a maiden India Test call-up in the BGT against Australia in February, although he had to sit out as Bharat got the upper hand. Both have played in England earlier as part of India A tours, but the suspicion is that Kishan against the moving ball is not the best of ideas as the 23-year-old batsman has had some gaps in his technique despite being the fastest ODI ever. double century Mongia agreed with this theory and explained the challenges that come with keeping wicket in England.
“Conditions in England … it’s one of the hardest places to keep wickets. The ball wobbles a lot, dives a lot especially in the first half. You have to stand up with the ball, have to watch all 90 overs. We’re gone playing Test cricket with the Dukes ball. It’s a bit more difficult compared to the Kookaburra. The seam is straight up so the ball swings a lot. I know how difficult it is because we played the World Cup and it really beats you palm and it really hits your gloves. This is an added advantage for bowlers as the ball stays hard for a longer time,” he pointed out.
Source: Hindustan Times