Indian Test cricket has never backed down from making its bold selections understood, but now and again the team comes across a problem so delicious as to seem positively unfair on the opposition. The South Africa series, which is the first home workload of the 2025-27 World Test Championship householders, is one of those occasions.
Rishabh Pant returns with his trademark unpredictability, the kind that rattles bowlers and rescues scorecards. Opposite him is Dhruv Jurel, the young technician who averaged nearly 90 against the West Indies and then hammered twin centuries for India A against South Africa A.
India suddenly has two wicketkeepers in blistering form, both doubling as two of the country’s best red-ball batters right now. But only one can wear the gloves, and that’s where the real selection puzzle begins.
Form Meets Pedigree in Unusually Equal Measure
Every era has its unmissable name. For India, it has been Rishabh Pant 3,427 Test runs at 44.50, eight centuries, and a strike rate just shy of 75 in the longest format. He averaged nearly 70 in England. He terrifies bowlers not because he swings wildly, but because he calculates chaos better than anyone.
Next to him stands Jurel, not the apprentice anymore, but the fast-track graduate. An average close to 90 against the West Indies, two more hundreds against South Africa A, and an emerging reputation as India’s best pressure sponge since VVS Laxman misunderstood the word crisis as a personal invitation.
A Batting Order That Finally Breathes
If India picks only one of Pant or Jurel, they’re weakening a top order already carrying a few question marks. Jaiswal, Rahul, and Gill are set. But No. 3 and No. 6 remain revolving doors.
Sai Sudharsan did score a promising 87, but his five-Test average of 30.33 indicates inconsistency, and his South Africa A outings haven’t pushed the needle. Nitish Reddy, meanwhile, barely bowled despite being picked as a pace-all-rounder, meaning India used a batting slot on someone who wasn’t fully utilized.
Pant and Jurel in the top six instantly give India the freedom to choose the better specialist batter at No. 3 or 6, not the least-wrong option. It restores batting depth and protects the five-bowler template without compromising on form.
The Spin-Dominated Reality of Home Tests
Home Tests against South Africa don’t drift; they bend, grip, and bite. With pitches expected to turn from Day 2 onward, India needs batters who can defend for long periods and flip the pressure when spinners tighten the web.
Pant averages nearly 56 at home with a strike rate touching 90. Jurel averages 73 in-home Tests. More importantly, both possess that rare duality: soak up 40 balls in survival mode, then reverse momentum in the next 15 deliveries.
Against a side that historically depends on seamers, India’s best chance is to force South Africa’s spinners into long, uncomfortable spells. Pant and Jurel left-right, aggressive-defensive, unpredictable-unbudgeable do exactly that.
Flexibility in a Series Where Flexibility Wins
Playing both glovemen isn’t about romance; it’s about adaptability. Want to meet at 5? Done. Want Jurel at 3 on a green-tinged Kolkata morning? Possible. Need a right-left pairing to break a spinner’s spell? Both offer that.
In the past, India has rarely fielded two wicket-keepers in its top six. When they have done so, especially when Kellonil Saha and Pant have been together during the 2017-18 crossing period, the additional flexibility has usually lent itself to more positives rather than fewer. As a tightness now exists early in the WTC table layout, tactical flexibility now becomes a positive rather than a negative.
Leaving out one is a concession to tradition, not logic. Playing both is a statement: India wants to boss this WTC cycle, not merely navigate it. South Africa may prepare for turners, reverse swing, and Eden Gardens noise, but nothing unsettles a touring side more than realizing every wicket opens the door to another in-form, confident, technically equipped batter.
Key Takeaway
India doesn’t need to choose between Pant and Jurel; they need to unleash both.
FAQs
- Why can’t Pant simply replace Jurel?
Because Jurel is currently one of India’s most in-form red-ball batters, not just a backup keeper.
- Where would both bat in the lineup?
One at No. 5, the other flexing between No. 3 and No. 6, depending on conditions.
- Does this compromise India’s five-bowler plan?
No, it strengthens the batting without touching the bowling core.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
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