Rishabh Pant has been in quarantine for the past 9 days, having tested positive for the virus. Wriddhiman Saha has had to isolate himself after a support staff member, Dayanand Garani, also contracted the virus. The situation has made every Indian cricket fan wondering as to who will keep wickets for the team in the 3-day practice Test against Select Count XI? Dinesh Karthik, who is in England as a commentator, has cheekily put his case forward.
The end of Team India’s 3-week holiday period in England brought along multiple virus cases, with both Pant and Garani testing positive. Pant was staying with some of his friends in London and hence his Covid-positive case didn’t have a bearing on other members of the Indian team. However, Garani’s positive RT-PCR report did force the Indian team management to put in 3 members of the camp including wicket-keeper batsman Saha into quarantine.
Making light of the situation, Karthik posted a picture on Twitter of his kit bag, cheekily saying that he is ready to keep wickets for India amid the current crisis. He captioned the post “Just saying”.
Karthik is in England at present but in the capacity of a commentator and not a cricketer. The veteran wicket-keeper batsman worked as a commentator in India’s ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and has since been lending his voice for different cricketing assignments.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed in a statement that Saha, as well as bowling coach Bharat Arun and reserve opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, will be in quarantine for the next 10 days.
“The four personnel will undergo 10-day isolation and will remain in their respective rooms in the team hotel in London,” the BCCI said in a statement.
While both Saha and Pant will be isolated for the coming days, the Indian team is in a fix over the wicket-keeping situation for the practice Test starting July 20. From the options available, KL Rahul remains the only player who can keep wickets for the team, having done so in both ODIs and T20Is for India already.
