KL Rahul will do wicketkeeping in the test: Coach Dravid said

KL Rahul will do wicketkeeping in the test: Coach Dravid said - he has a chance to do something different

India will play the first Test against South Africa on 26 December in Centurion.

The first Test between India and South Africa is to be played from 26 December. Before the match, Indian team coach Rahul Dravid has confirmed that KL Rahul will be the wicketkeeper in the Test series.

Apart from KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan was in the Indian squad, but he went on a mental health break and will not take part in the series.

When asked a question related to the World Cup defeat, Dravid said - We have forgotten it and have now moved ahead. This has to be forgotten.

Rahul has a chance to do something different - Dravid

"I see it as an exciting challenge, it's definitely an opportunity for him to do something different," Dravid said during a media interaction. Obviously, this opportunity came up with Ishan not being available, we had a few keepers to choose from and Rahul is one of them. We had discussed with KL Rahul and he was very confident and willing to take it forward.

Dravid further said that we understand that Rahul does not have the experience of wicket-keeping in Tests, but in ODI cricket, Rahul has been keeping wickets regularly. He has prepared well in the last five to six months, he has done a lot of keeping.

On Sunday, the players of the Indian team practiced on the Centurion ground.

There won't be much spin, Rahul's job will be easy

Dravid said, South Africa's pitch is not spin-friendly. There will be mostly fast bowling here. This will make it easier for Rahul to keep wickets. Dravid further said that Rahul is a great batsman along with wicket-keeping, this will help us a lot.

World Cup defeat will have to be forgotten - Dravid

Dravid said - We lost in the World Cup, it is disappointing, but we have now forgotten it and moved forward. We are forced to do this, we learn to do this since childhood. Every time you get out, you are disappointed, you have one more innings to play, you have to perform in the next innings, so you can't let the old disappointment stay with you.

Being a cricketer, you learn from childhood how to deal with it. If you let disappointment stay with you, it will affect you in the next game.

Virat Kohli has returned to South Africa before the first Test match. Kohli returned to India two days ago due to family reasons.

India can go with two spinners and three pacers

When asked about the team combination in the match, Dravid said, we will take a decision but what combination do we have. If we want, we can play two spinners and three seamers and maybe four seamers. We have balance in the team but you cannot control the weather. The combination depends on the season.