4 young wicket-keepers India should consider instead of Dinesh Karthik in upcoming away Test matches
Wicketkeeping in Test matches is one of the toughest tasks in the sport of cricket. They have to be on their toes all the while and don't forget zillions of squats that they have to do. A wicketkeeper doesn't have a leverage to relax for even one minute as every single chance of a wicket is priceless. Even after MS Dhoni's retirement, the Indian team was endowed a quality wicketkeeper in the form of Wriddhiman Saha.
Right before the Afghanistan Test, India suffered a huge blow as Saha, India's best wicket-keeper in the longer format, again injured his shoulder during the Indian Premier League. Saha first injured his shoulder in January and had to go through rehabilitation.
The 33-year-old wicket-keeper was declared fit just two and a half weeks before the tournament but the injury resurfaced within a short span of time. After not being picked up for ongoing England Test series due to injuries, Saha successfully underwent a labral repair surgery on his shoulder on 1 August 2018.
Dinesh Karthik returned to the Test cricket setup of the Indian team after a long time replacing the injured Wriddhiman Saha. Karthik's glovework in England was shabby at times. While he dropped Sam Curran's catch diving across Dhawan in the first innings, he put off Dhawan by moving across him and as a result, the southpaw dropped Adil Rashid's catch in the second innings.
Even with the bat, Karthik hasn't scored much in the three innings after his return. All he could manage was 24 runs on the three occasions. He even had a chance to redeem himself by taking India home in the second innings of the first Test against England but he failed to rise up to the occasion. Karthik, one of the most experienced wicketkeepers in India, could manage only 20 runs as India fell short by 31 runs.
With Karthik not performing exceptionally with the bat and his lackluster glovework, India might have to look for other options for the future away tours. Here is a list of the four youngsters India should consider trying before Saha gets fit.