If everything went well, he might not have played in this Test. He would have had to wait for his debut forever. But an incident on December 30 changed Shrikar Bharat’s life. Rishabh Pant’s long-term layoff due to a car accident has brought a sudden opportunity to Bharat. A last-minute battle with Ishan Kishan did not stop Bharat from getting the Indian team cap. And in the very first Test, Bharat showed why he could be a worthy successor to Pant.
Then the second over of the match started. Mohammad Siraj‘s first ball went to Usman Khwaja’s bat. Siraj and the rest of the team shouted loudly. But umpire Nitin Menon did not care. Running in from mid-on, Rohit Sharma first consulted with Bharat. He decided to DRS with one second to spare. As it turned out, Bharat’s prediction was accurate.
Dhoni has had such predictability in the past. At one time his DRS was called ‘Dhoni Review System’. Pant, however, is very raw in this regard. India lost DRS by listening to his advice in the past. But Bharat’s confidence on Thursday caught the attention of many.
It does not end up here. He also made a great stumping that day. Marnus Labuchagne was frozen on the wicket, just a run away from the fifty.
He played Ravichandran Ashwin’s ball on his front foot but got trapped in Bharat’s gloves. Bharat didn’t wait and broke the bells with lightning speed.
Dinesh Kartik heaved praises for KS Bharat
Praising Bharat during the DRS, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik said,
“Everyone says that you have to prove yourself to play Tests. Bharat has proved it. He has been playing for Andhra for many days. He has also played for India ‘A’ team for five years. In his debut test, he took a big decision within five minutes. As a keeper you have to be confident and tell the captain exactly what you saw. Bharat did it brilliantly.”
The Indian wicketkeeper, KS Bharat, himself said,
“For me to believe that I had potential to play for India, it took me four or five years of continuous performances. The first three years I had brilliant seasons, then I had a lean patch. And when I had a lean patch and bounced back, it is when I realized I had some potential to make it big and not just first-class. My journey has never skyrocketed. It has always consisted of small steps.”
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