 "If Rishabh Pant plays as specialist batter, then who will keep wickets for India in the 4th Test?")
Besides the stinging dilemma about Jasprit Bumrah, Team India faces a headache regarding the role of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant ahead of the start of the 4th Test. Considering the batter sustained a finger injury during England’s first innings at Lord’s and did not keep wickets for the rest of the match, it is uncertain whether Pant will enter the Manchester Test as the designated keeper or if his role will be restricted to a specialist batter. Back-up keeper Dhruv Jurel filled in for him behind the stumps at Lord’s. Thus, a similar case could prevail in the 4th Test.
Team India successfully enforced the substitute fielder role at Lord’s, and hence, Dhruv Jurel was introduced to the scene. As a proxy keeper, Jurel was decent behind the wickets, but on occasions, his inexperience was apparent. Nevertheless, the batting duty still had to be carried out by Rishabh Pant, who managed to score 74 and 9 in the match. He looked to attack and played his routine game in both innings, giving out the impression that the injury did not affect his batting. This way, both areas were effectively covered without any compromise.
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Who can keep wickets if Rishabh Pant starts as a specialist batter?
As per a latest update, Rishabh Pant has not fully recovered. Therefore, there are realistic chances that he will feature at Old Trafford as a specialist batsman. In this situation, India will have to start with a new keeper, as the ICC rule does not allow any team to start the match with a substitute on the field. In this case, either KL Rahul or Dhruv Jurel, the other two options available in the squad who can keep wickets, will have to start the match as the designated wicketkeeper.
KL Rahul will be in the playing XI. Hence, he can replace Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper in the 4th Test. In this case, Rishabh Pant can start as a pure batter, and India can start the Test with the same XI that took the field in the 3rd Test. However, in case Dhruv Jurel comes into the XI as the wicketkeeper, then someone will have to make way for him.
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