KL Rahul's presence behind the stumps during the ODI World Cup gave the Indian team the balance, but the stylish right-hander from Karnataka is unlikely to don the big gloves in white-ball cricket in the future. The national selection committee is expected to meet on January 19, a day after the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, to select the 15-member provisional squad for the Champions Trophy. There will be some discussion on two fringe selections – the second keeper spot and the wrist spinner in case Kuldeep Yadav fails to get fit in time.
In the case of the goalkeeping position, Rishabh Pant is the first choice by country mile, but the second goalkeeping position could be a three-way battle between Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. As of now, it looks like Jurel might win the battle.
Samson could lose if he decides to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kishan played 27 ODIs and scored 933 runs at an average of 42-plus, with a double hundred and seven half-centuries to show for his efforts.
But he has fallen a bit out of favor with the current selection committee after skipping domestic cricket last year, which led to him losing his annual central contract with BCCI.
Kishan has had a modest Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 316 runs in seven matches with one hundred against one of the NE states.
While Kishan was part of the World Cup squad, young UP and Rajasthan Royals player Jurel has impressed everyone and could definitely walk in as the second goalkeeper.
Jurel has also been included in the England T20 squad as a substitute for Sanju Samson. Although he has made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe, his selection in the shortest format is of great importance as the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, was keen to keep him in the white-ball plan.
It is understood that Pant and Jurel can be one and two for India in Tests and ODIs in the future, while Samson is believed to only be suitable for the T20 format, where he has scored three centuries by the end of 2024.
Bishnoi vs Varun
Kuldeep Yadav will soon appear for a fitness test and match simulation, but Varun Chakravarthy of Tamil Nadu, with 18 wickets in six matches, and Ravi Bishnoi of Gujarat with 14 wickets from six matches, are both in contention after showing their wares in T20Is for India.
Varun has two five-wicket hauls for Tamil Nadu and has taken his wickets at an economy rate of 4.36. But his ability to bowl on flat pitches at the Dubai Stadium is still a matter of debate. Moreover, his fieldwork, which is not exactly an international standard, is something of a risk on an international level.
Bishnoi, who mainly bowls googlies, was very impressive as he achieved an economy rate of 3.64 during the VHT campaign. Add to that the fact that he has a very powerful arm, can field anywhere in deep and is a fantastic catcher.
While Chakravarthy has played under Gautam Gambhir at KKR, Bishnoi has also been under India's head coach during his time with the Lucknow Super Giants.
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