Any team will miss the quality of a player like Virat. But, it gives an opportunity for another player to step up: Dravid

So K.L. Rahul will not keep wicket against England.

That isn’t much of a surprise, though he had given a good account of himself behind the stumps at the World Cup at home and then the Tests in South Africa. But given the role spin is expected to play in this series of five Tests, chances of Rahul keeping his ‘keeping gloves were slim; the confirmation came on Tuesday, from Indian cricket’s other Rahul.

Coach Dravid said, shortly before the Indian team began its practice at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium ahead of the first Test starting on Thursday, that the choice was between the other two ‘keepers named in the squad – K.S. Bharat and Dhruv Jurel.

“I think we were quite clear about that with the selection itself,” Dravid said. “We had picked two other wicketkeepers. Obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw that series. But considering there are five Test matches and playing in these conditions, we felt we would go with another keeping option and considering the weather as well. So it is a toss-up between the two other keepers that we have.”

One of the main talking points about the series is the absence of the mainstay of Indian batting, Virat Kohli, who isn’t available for the first two Tests because of personal reasons. “Any team will miss the quality of a player like Virat, and he is a phenomenal player, and his record speaks for itself,” Dravid said. “Off the field, his presence is a huge boost for the team. But having said that, it gives another opportunity for another player to step up and put in some performances.”

The bigger talking point has been the pitches that are tipped to turn. “It is a hard one to say, so we will just have a look once it starts and figure it out,” he said. “It looks a good one and may spin a little bit; how quickly and fast I am not sure, but it may spin a little bit as the game goes on.”

Dravid indicated that he wasn’t bothered by Shubman Gill’s low scores in Tests. “Gill is a fine player and is starting out his journey as a cricketer, and sometimes we forget that it takes a bit of time,” he said. “He has done well in his early tours, especially in Australia, and to be fair, a lot of young players are playing on challenging wickets, and it’s quite hard at times, but Gill is doing all the right things and is putting in the effort. He got a couple of nice hundreds for us last season – in Bangladesh and Ahmedabad — and he is on the right track.”