Brad Hogg picks Rishabh Pant over Wriddhiman Saha as India's Test wicket-keeper, backs KL Rahul for limited-overs

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has revealed whom he would pick as India wicket-keeper in Tests and in the limited-over formats and why. In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Hogg did a comparison between Wriddhiman Saha, KL Rahul and Rishab Pant. Stating that Saha is the best, he said, “We have to go to Saha first, because he’s the best. Why?” He went on to explain that this is because Saha stays low and when the ball comes, he doesn’t move till the last moment. Hogg said that he moves with soft hands and he has nimble feet.

“He’s quick at down leg side and to take those stumpings. He’s got the good reach and quick hands to come back and take the stumpings. And when he’s up to the stumps, those quick catches off the edge, he generally takes most of them,” Hogg said. Talking about KL Rahul, the bowler said that he can keep in the shorter formats with the opportunities he has got earlier this year. He added that much like Saha, Rahul is quick with the hands but because of his height, he’s slightly slower down the leg side. Pant is a more flat-footed and has got hard hands, Hogg said. He claimed that Pant snatches more at the ball than Saha and Rahul. On having to decide upon who to choose as the ideal player in all three formats of the game, Hogg revealed he would not pick KL Rahul keeping because he does not do enough of it in first-class cricket and it would put pressure on his batting. He added he would prefer Pant in Test cricket as the keeper choice because of his aggressive batting style.“For me, even if Pant misses a few stumpings that Saha would get, he puts the team in a much better position than Saha to win the Test match with his bat,” he said. Hogg picked Rahul for shorter formats including ODIs and T20Is.