"Rohit & Dravid making bold and good selection calls" - Fans react as KS Bharat makes his Test debut

Wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat made his Team India debut in the first Test against Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9.

Bharat has been second in line behind Rishabh Pant ever since India phased out senior wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha from the Test side after Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid took charge of the team.

However, with Pant out of action for several months after being involved in a car crash in December last year, the slot was up for grabs. There was a toss-up between Ishan Kishan and Bharat, but the management showed trust in the latter's abilities.

Fans were extremely delighted to see Bharat getting his long due, and here are some of the reactions:

Good to see KS Bharat finally making his Test debut, has been a long time coming. India had to ease out Wriddhiman Saha last year, which was unfortunate #cricket #IndvAus

Playing test cricket for the country is a true honour. Happy for @surya_14kumar and KS Bharat.
Go well 👍

#INDvAUS https://t.co/j8fKAwybSv

Picture of the day - kiss from the mother for KS Bharat. https://t.co/Ni8Zcpautn

So, it's official now. Gloveman KS Bharat is going to debut today. Although, he has three test catches against his name already as a sub keeper.

Last September, I had talked to him at length during the India A-New Zealand A series. He explains the things in a philosophical way. https://t.co/y5EjqTNtdd

Happy for KS Bharat, he has waited for this so long. Debut test for him, his role could be crucial considering Pant won’t be available for quite sometime.

And KS Bharat makes his debut as wicket keeper.

KS Bharat becomes only the second Andhra player after MSK Prasad to keep wickets for India in Test cricket.

Other keepers to born in Andhra Pradesh - Pochiah Krishnamurthy (played for Hyderabad).
#INDvsAUS #BGT2023

KS Bharat and his mother hugging each other! Bharat is making his Test debut for India today ♥️ #INDvAUS https://t.co/ee74oQm1Zt

Nice gesture to invite families of debutants on field… KS Bharat with his Mother @BCCI #BorderGavaskarTrophy https://t.co/1ghNRZ6IxY

Very very happy for KS Bharat. Man has been a backup keeper for almost 2-3 years now, travelling everywhere with the team. One of the finest with gloves in India finally gets his Test debut. twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

💥💥💥💥💥ALL THE BEST KS BHARAT BROTHER FOR SELECT "INDIAN 🇮🇳" CRICKET TEAM' ONES AGAIN BEST OF LUCK' AND ENJOY THE MATCH' KS BHARAT ANNA WON THE MATCH 💥💥💥💥💥 https://t.co/unTsvW6Nxn

I hope KS Bharat is a good keeper and does not drop catches, miss stumpings or give easy byes.

KS Bharat is making his debut today. Since Saha's retirement, he has been in India's second keeper for a while.

Rohit & Dravid making bold and good selection calls.

#BGT2023
#INDvsAUS

KS Bharat deserved this chance. What he can do behind the wickets might just surprise many in this BGT

@chand2579 All the best to KS Bharat, definitely it's a very good thing to include him in the team.

Bharat boasts a decent first-class record, scoring over 4700 runs in 86 games at an average of 37.95, with nine centuries and 27 fifites. He also has 296 catches and 35 stumpings to his name.

The 29-year-old also had little experience in international cricket when he came out as a replacement for the injured Saha during the first Test against New Zealand in 2021. He took two catches and stumped Tom Latham off Axar Patel's bowling.

India strike early after being asked to bowl first

Australian skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first in Nagpur. However, the decision backfired as they lost both openers in quick succession.

Mohammed Siraj removed Usman Khawaja in the second over, while Mohammed Shami rattled David Warner's stumps in the next over with a ripper of a delivery. Since then, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have done well to stitch together a partnership and bail the team out of danger. At the time of writing, the visitors were 26/2 in 9.3 overs.

India vs Australia Playing 11s

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, and Scott Boland.

Also Read: "Interesting to see Surya's approach in Test cricket" - Fans give mixed reactions as Suryakumar Yadav makes his Test debut