India registered a big win against England in the second match on Monday to level the five-match Test series to 1-1. England's second innings collapsed on 292 while chasing a 399-run target on Day 4 in Visakhapatnam as Indian bowlers proved too strong for Bazball.
Now focus turns to the next match in Rajkot starting on February 15 but before that everyone is waiting on the announcement for the team India's squad for the remaining three matches. The BCCI is expected to announce the squad in the coming days with a focus on Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja's return.
However, the question remains on the wicketkeeping choice for the third game after a flop show from KS Bharat in the first two matches. Bharat has scored 92 runs in four innings in the ongoing series and is yet to register a fifty in 12 Test innings of his career.
With Rishabh Pant still recovering, Ishan Kishan's name has emerged as the wicketkeeping option. Ishan made his Test debut in July 2023 against West Indies and was impressive with a bat in two matches. However, he was part of the red-ball team for the recent South Africa tour but later withdrew his name citing a break.
The 25-year-old wicketkeeper batter last played a competitive cricket in November 2023 during a T20I series against Australia at home. Prior to the England series, head coach Rahul Dravid had said Ishan would make his return to the national team after playing some domestic cricket but the Jharkand batter hasn't featured in any of his team's five Ranji Trophy matches this year.
When asked about the player's return from the break, Dravid highlighted that Ishan needs to play some cricket before the management can consider him straight back in the national team. Dravid also added that Ishan will decide on his return from break but the management is in contact with him.
"There’s a way back for everyone," Rahul Dravid said in the post-match press conference in Visakhapatnam on Monday. "We don’t rule out anybody for anything. Ishan, requested a break, and we were happy to give him a break. Whenever he is ready, he needs to play some cricket and come back. The choice is his. We aren’t forcing him to do anything. We’re in touch with him but he’s not yet started playing, so it’s not something we can consider [having him back]. He decides when he wants to be ready."
