Pant, Saha, and Rahul: Who will be India's perfect wicket-keeper in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?

India and Australia will lock horns for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on the 17th of December. Virat Kohli's blue army will head into the 4-Test series with an objective they have never had before. For the first time, the Men in Blue will look to defend the crown that they won on Australian shores.

India will face challenges in the upcoming Test series. Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are not a part of the test squad. Virat Kohli will also fly back home after the first Test. The first test match will be with a pink ball and the hosts are the favorites in that encounter.

If team India is to scale a serious challenge against the Aussies, they'll have to get their team selection bang on. One of the dilemmas in the Indian squad is that of the wicket-keeper slot, which has Pant, Saha, and Rahul in dispute.

Rishabh was the second-highest run-scorer last time India toured Australia

Rishabh Pant has an excellent record in Australia that makes him more capable of keeping in the series. In 4 Tests so far, the southpaw has scored 350 runs and has taken 20 catches.

Rishabh’s contributions in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back in 2018/19 was very significant for Team India. He hasn't been included in the white-ball setups and can be trusted to capitalize in the longer format.

Saha can be a better option on the seaming, green strips in England, but Pant is a pretty good wicket-keeper for the pace and bounce of Australia. India will need to beef up their batting order in the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Pant being a left-handed batsman should win the encounter between these two wicket-keepers.

Will KL Rahul bridge the red and white format gap?

For the first time, KL Rahul is has established himself as a regular member in all three formats. If Kohli and Rohit were available for the entire series, he might not have got an opportunity in the red-ball form.

However, Pant and Saha having their own flaws, Rahul has a valuable opportunity to become the keeper in Test. Rahul has proved himself in white-ball cricket and has kept wickets once in Tests before.

KL Rahul is the number one pick for both the ODIs and T20Is. He will have already played six games by the time the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins. The Kings XI Punjab skipper is the vice-captain of the white-ball teams, and a lot is to expected for him.

Rahul has coupled with the fact that he's been a safe catcher at second slip for India in Tests. It leads us to believe that Rahul can be a specialist batsman in the most extended format of the game as well.

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