"KL won't play as wicketkeeper in England series", confirms head coach Dravid

KL Rahul, Rahul Dravid (Pic: File Pic)

India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said that batter KL Rahul will not play as wicketkeeper in the five-match Test series against England.

Team India's head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said that KL Rahul will not play as wicketkeeper in the test series against England. He also said that KL has been outstanding with the big gloves but the squad also consists of two more wicketkeepers. Between Dhruv Jurel and KS Bharat, one will be selected for the role of wicketkeeper.

Also Read: IN PHOTOS | IND vs ENG Tests: Potential players to fit in Kohli's place

Dravid stated that the decision was inspired by the series' duration and the weather conditions.

The five-match Test series between India and England begins on Thursday in Hyderabad with the next four matches to be played in Vizag, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala.

Also Read: IN PHOTOS | IND vs ENG Tests: Rohit Sharma's prodigious test records in India

"Rahul won't be playing as a wicketkeeper in the series. I think we were quite clear about that from the selection itself. We had picked two others who could keep for us. Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in us helping draw that series. But considering five Test matches and playing in these conditions, the selection will be between the two other keepers we have," Dravid said in a pre-match press conference.

India will clash with England in the absence of star batsman Virat Kohli in the first two test matches. He has withdrawn from the first two tests due to personal reasons.

Rohit Sharma will lead the hosts in the series with lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah being his deputy.

India's pace attack will also include Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar in the strong 16-member squad.

Squad for first two Tests vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC) and Avesh Khan.

(With ANI Inputs)