“No Bigger Challenge Than That”: Gautam Gambhir’s No-Nonsense Take On ‘Unfair’ KL Rahul Situation

With Rishabh Pant nonetheless recovering from a horrific automotive accident he incurred in December final yr, Team India have struggled to search out a really perfect alternative for him behind the stumps, particularly in Test cricket. While there is no such thing as a trace of Pant’s return to worldwide circuit anytime quickly, India are set to play South Africa in a two-match Test sequence, beginning with the primary recreation in Centurion from December 26. They may even play 5 Tests in opposition to England on residence soil, beginning January 24. While KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have stored the wickets in Pant’s absence, it’s KL Rahul who is ready to take the duty in opposition to South Africa.

During a latest interplay, former India batter Gautam Gambhir hoped that the upcoming sequence in opposition to South Africa doesn’t transform a one-off scenario for Rahul as a wicketkeeper.

While Gambhir is assured that Rahul will do properly behind the stumps in opposition to South Africa, the previous India opener feels his actual problem shall be to maintain the wickets in India’s spin-friendly tracks.

“I hope this is not a one-off situation because that would be unfair. His real challenge will not be wicketkeeping in South Africa, but on rank turners, in that five Test match series against England when Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar will be bowling. No challenge is bigger than that. If you are looking at these two Test matches, then I would rather not play him (as a keeper) because I would look at long-term plans, and India don’t have a long-term plan right now because you only have KS Bharat and Rahul now. But probably it is the right way of going about things in allowing KL Rahul do the job until Rishabh Pant returns,” Gambhir mentioned on Star Sports.

A couple of months away from making an on-field return, Pant was on the IPL 2024 public sale desk for Delhi Capitals. As Pant continues to work on his restoration, he opened up on the automotive crash, admitting that he’s fortunate to be alive right now.

“The kind of accident I had I am lucky to be alive. The first part of recovery was so challenging with lots of pain but now recovery is going well,” Pant mentioned in a video posted by the IPL on social media.

“More from a physical point of view because in the starting there was a lot of pain to be endured. But just looking forward to the journey till now. I think it’s been going really well from a recovery point of view,” he mentioned.