Ravi Shastri spills the beans on his choice of wicket-keeper for Australia tour

India will be heading to Australia with the hope of an overseas win this time.

Wriddhiman Saha will have fewer chances for the Australia Test series | Getty Images

Indian Cricket Team head coach, Ravi Shastri, has revealed his choice for the keeper’s role between Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha for the forthcoming Australia Test series in December 2018.

With the West Indies series finished off on a winning note, as India won the Test series 2-0 and registered a record-equalling tenth consecutive Test series win on home soil, focus will now shift to the Australian tour, which is India's last chance to grab an overseas win this year after being defeated by England and South Africa.

At the moment following West Indies series, there is one question which is doing the rounds and that is who will be India's wicket-keeper in Australia. India's head coach made it clear that whose form is on the top right now deserves the opportunity to shine on the Kangaroos’ soil, though he directly did not reveal the name.

Meanwhile, Saha last turned up for India in the first Test match in South Africa in Cape Town, before benched owing to a shoulder injury, following which he suffered a hamstring injury and then missed quite a few matches in the IPL 2018 due to a finger injury.

He has since missed a lot of Tests with injuries including historic one-off Test against Afghanistan and the tour of England, needing a long rehabilitation process, which forced national selectors to give the opportunity to Dinesh Karthik.

However, Karthik failed to meet the expectations and Pant was given a debut chance in England, and he grabbed the eyeballs by scoring a century at the Oval. He also played both Tests against the West Indies, and registered identical scores of 92 in both matches.

Shastri told reporters after Hyderabad Test win, “Pant is another such youngster. He's such a good batsman and is good with the gloves as well. We have to go on according to the present form for team selection (when asked about Pant or Saha) in Australia.”

Noteworthy, Saha became India's No.1 choice keeper with remarkable wicket-keeping skills after MS Dhoni in Tests, while Pant has pushed his case more with the willow, as he still requires a lot of improvement and work on his job behind the stumps.

(Inputs: Times Now)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 15 Oct, 2018

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