Rohit Sharma Puzzled by KL Rahul's Extended Wicketkeeping Decision

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma praised wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul for his performance behind the stumps in the World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma confirmed that KL Rahul will wear the wicketkeeping gloves for the upcoming two-match Test series in South Africa.

India will take on South Africa in the first Test at Centurion on Tuesday, December 26. Experienced players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have returned to the squad after missing the white ball game. Rahul led the team to a series win in the ODI format. After Rishabh Pant's injury, Rahul has assumed the role of wicketkeeper and shifted to the middle order. The 31-year-old impressed with his glove work despite his lack of wicketkeeping experience. He served as the designated wicketkeeper in the recent ODI World Cup.

KL Rahul worked really hard – Rohit Sharma
Speaking at a press conference, Rohit Sharma highlighted the benefits of having KL Rahul as a reliable batsman in the middle order along with taking up the wicketkeeping role. Rohit was optimistic about Rahul's wicketkeeping performance in the series.

“I thought the way he did at the World Cup, he worked really hard and was impressive. It gives us the option to play a solid batsman in the middle order. He does most things right when he bats in the middle order in ODIs. He knows the situation and how to bat. I am not sure how long he wants to keep but as long as he does, he will do well," Rohit told reports.

Rahul showcased his batting skills in India's previous tour to South Africa in 2021-22. The right-handed batsman scored 123 runs in the first innings of the series opener, which contributed to the team's victory. He scored 226 runs in three matches at an average of 37.67.

Rohit Sharma will open the innings along with Yashaswi Jaiswal
Rohit Sharma and Yashaswi Jaiswal, who made a great debut in the West Indies, will continue to open the innings. Shubman Gill will bat at number 3, followed by star batsman Virat Kohli. Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are expected to be the remaining two in India's top 6.

India will be without Mohammad Shami for the Test due to an ankle injury. Ishan Kishan, who requested a break due to personal reasons, has been replaced by KS Bharat. Abhimanyu Iswaran has been brought in for Ruturaj Gaekwad, who was injured during the ODI series.

With Mohammad Shami ruled out of the Test series, the onus of pace bowling for the visitors will fall on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj. The choice of third seamer for the Indian team will be Mukesh Kumar or the popular Krishna. India needs to finalize its spin bowling strategy by considering the options of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. If only one spinner is selected, Jadeja is likely to play the primary spinning role. Shardul Thakur can be seen as the fourth seamer in the lineup.