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India vs West Indies: Chief selector MSK Prasad reveals this youngster was ‘very close’ to earning Test berth
MSK Prasad revealed that young wicket-keeper batsman KS Bharat was extremely close to booking his spot in the Test squad which will face West Indies but he ultimately missed out due to the inclusion of Wriddhiman Saha.
India chief selector MSK Prasad revealed that young wicket-keeper batsman KS Bharat was extremely close to booking his spot in the Test squad which will face West Indies but he ultimately missed out due to the inclusion of Wriddhiman Saha. Saha last played a Test match in South Africa back in January 2018. However, he was included in the Test squad after a long injury lay-off along with Rishabh Pant. Bharat was a phenomenal performer for the India A team in the recent past but he missed out on the selection by the finest of margins.
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“We have taken the India A performances into consideration. The performances of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have been phenomenal and so has been Navdeep Saini. Also, in the longer format, it was KS Bharat who was very close to being selected,” Prasad said at the press conference.
“It is a norm that when a senior or established player makes a comeback from injury, he is given a chance in the team. So that’s how we have given a comeback opportunity to Wriddhiman Saha. But, I can tell with the stellar performances that KS Bharat has been doing in India A - he has scored three centuries and taken almost 50 dismissals - he was very close to making the cut,” he added.
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In his last 11 appearances for India A, Andhra wicket-keeper batsman Bharat has scored 686 runs with three centuries and two half-centuries, held 41 catches and effected six stumpings. He has scored three centuries against Australia-A (106 at Alur), England Lions (142 at Wayanad) and Sri Lanka-A (117 at Hubli).
