'Keep him in mind when you pick your XI for Test Championship final' - Sunil Gavaskar picks under-fire star as India's keeper-batter instead of KS Bharat 

Sunil Gavaskar (Source - Twitter)

India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the series 2-1 against Australia. They even booked their ticket to the Oval after New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka in a last-ball thriller in the first Test in Christchurch. Soon after the conclusion of BGT final Test in Ahmedabad, the focus shifted to the World Test Championship final, which will be held at the Oval in England from June 7. Rohit Sharma-led India will once again lock horns against Pat Cummins-led Australia in the marquee event.

Most of the Indian Test team members are part of the Indian T20 League which starts from March 31. The Indian skipper said that they are more focused on the WTC and few players will leave for UK early after completing their franchise duty in the upcoming ITL. However, India will have to fill the huge voids of their star players Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant before the final event. Both have been out of cricket action for a long time due to injuries and there is no confirmation about their return.

India will miss Pant's fearless batting

India did not miss Bumrah much during the BGT as the spinners did the job, but his unavailability in English conditions will hurt the Men in Blue a lot. Speaking of Pant, his batting and keeping were missing against Australia as KS Bharat failed to impress on both. Pant has been one of India's top performers in Test cricket in overseas conditions. His fearless batting can bring twists in the game and put more pressure on the opposition team.

Amid uncertainty over India's wicketkeeper-batter, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar wants KL Rahul to be considered as an option for the WTC final.

"You can see KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper. If he bats at No.5 or 6 in at the Oval (in the WTC final) then our batting will be stronger. Because he batted really well in England last year. He scored a century at the Lord's. Keep KL Rahul in mind when you pick your XI for the WTC final," the legendary batter told Sports Tak.

"Whether they will select him in the XI or not is up to the selection committee but in England, you won't get pitches where the keeper has to stand up to the stumps. In that case, you can pick KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper and even Ishan Kishan can be considered. Their batting is better than Bharat's," he added.