“Bharat should firstly be judged on his keeping”: Aakash Chopra ahead of Rajkot Test

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): Former India opener Aakash Chopra opined that wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat should get one more opportunity despite failing in the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England.

The third match of the series will be played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday. According to `the media reports, there are speculations that young Dhruv Jurel s set to replace Bharat in the playing XI for the third match. Bharat has scored 221 runs at an average of 20.09 in seven Tests he has played so far in his career.

The cricketer-turned-commentator asserted that Bharat should be given at least one more match to prove himself.

“It’s been heard that Dhruv Jurel will be handed his debut cap. I am thinking whether it’s right or wrong. Only two Tests have happened. I want him (Bharat) to keep in all five, but if you still need batting that much, Bharat deserves to be given at least one more match,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

The 46-year-old further stated that Bharat should be judged on his wicket-keeping skills and not on his bating performance.

“I would say Srikar Bharat should firstly be judged on his keeping and I feel he is keeping decently. The pitches are difficult and that’s why you weren’t getting KL Rahul to keep. You said you wanted a specialist keeper. So he is doing his job fully as a specialist keeper,” the former right-hand batter added.

On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul will miss the upcoming third Test match against England in Rajkot due to a sore knee. Left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal will replace Rahul in the squad.

India’s updated squad for last three Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.