Andhra and India keeper KS Bharat will be fancying his chances to make his Test debut in the upcoming four-Test Border-Gavaskar series against Australia in February-March given that Rishabh Pant is not likely to get fit for the series.
Rishabh Pant made a huge name for himself after his counterattacking knocks in Australia on the 2020-21 tour including the one where he helped them beat Australia in Brisbane in what is called their fortress. Most recently, his counterattacks helped India in the Bangladesh Tests series as well.
However, with him recuperating from almost a fatal car accident and having recently undergone knee surgery, Pant will not be playing any cricket for almost 6 months.
This leaves KS Bharat, who has been the understudy to first Wriddhiman Saha and now Rishabh Pant, as the frontrunner to keep wickets for India against Australia. The modern game demands the keeper to be an able batter and Bharat backs himself to excel in both departments.
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"I have always considered myself as 100 percent keeper and 100 percent batter. I don't consider myself a 70 percent batter or a 30 percent keeper. Whenever I walk into the field, I am as good as an opening batter, and whenever I keep I think that I am the best keeper in whatever conditions are there or circumstances. Belief has been the biggest factor for me," the 29-year-old said after day 3 of the Andhra and Delhi Ranji match.
He has given a glimpse of his batting prowess with a knock of 80, his 27th fifty in first-class cricket apart from nine hundreds which also includes a triple ton.
Bharat had shown glimpses of his brilliant glovework during the Kanpur Test against New Zealand when he came onto the field to keep wickets for injured Wriddhiman Saha. However, he still doesn’t know whether he will be in the playing XI for the first Test against Australia in Nagpur but has clarity about how he’ll go about his game plan.
"Whatever the game demands, you have to step up. You cannot say you are only a T20 specialist or can play in one fashion. I have been fortunate to understand that from an early age. If a Test match is to be drawn and I have to bat four hours straight, then I have to do that or if the team is chasing on day four, needing 100 off 10 overs, I have to hit with that strike rate so that the team benefits.
End of the day, we play to win, there is no playing safe. If the game demands you have to score at 10 runs per over (in the longer format), you have to,” Bharat said.
Bharat also added that keeping on a variety of tracks in the Ranji Trophy has prepared him for the toughest of challenges.
“I always look up to this challenge. Ranji is a preparation phase for the next level. I would want to keep one full day or two so that you are tested to the maximum. If it is the 120th over, I would love to take a catch. If in every over something is happening, you are bound to be in the game but with wickets like these where nothing is happening (like here at Kotla) and one game-changing moment comes your away, you have to be alert to catch it," he added.
(PTI inputs)
