Dhruv Jurel set to play 1st South Africa Test as India A heroics leave Gambhir with no choice but to backtrack

In the absence of Pant, who was recovering from a toe injury incurred during the tour of England, Jurel was picked as India's primary wicketkeeper in the last three Tests - in London (Oval) against England, and in the West Indies series at home in Ahmedabad and Delhi. However, with Pant returning as the vice-captain for the two-match contest against South Africa, the selection of the playing XI has become a bit dicey.

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Since the start of the home season, Jurel has piled up scores of 140, 1 & 56, 125, 44 & 6, and 132 and 127*. With three centuries, including a Test ton, a fifty, and another 40-plus knock in his last eight first-class innings, overlooking him would have been impossible.

Who will Jurel replace?

According to a report in the PTI, Sai Sudharsan, who has been promised a lengthy rope at No. 3, is unlikely to make way for Jurel, implying that if India are to pick him as a batter in the line-up, it will be at the cost of benching all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

"Jurel is likely to play as a specialist batter. Ideally, there are two slots where he could be fitted in. One was Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 but he has a half-century in his last Test and the team management wants a settled No. 3," a BCCI source privy to the selection developments told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

"The other place is Nitish Kumar Reddy and he can't be played ahead of Jurel considering that his bowling won't be required much in these Indian conditions," he added.

The report further added that even Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 355 runs at 50.71 since the start of the season, could be experimented with in the Delhi Test match in place of Reddy, implying that the Andhra star will be on the bench for both games in the series.

Earlier last month, in the home series against West Indies, Reddy was given four overs of bowling in Ahmedabad and that too in the first innings. He went wicketless and did not get to bat after being slotted at No. 8. In the next game, he was promoted to No. 5, where he scored 43, but did not bowl a single over.

Despite criticism over whether Reddy is required in home Tests, Gambhir backed the youngster, saying it would be unfair to use him only in tough overseas conditions. "Wherever we can get the opportunity to put him in in Indian conditions, we will continue to do that, because it is important for us to groom someone like Nitish, because you know that there are not many seam-bowling allrounders, and we have spoken for decades and decades about seam-bowling allrounders," he had said in a presser after the series.

"So whenever we get that opportunity, we will keep grooming him. And it depends on the captain, it depends on the conditions as well, how many overs he bowls, but again, I think [just] seeing Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowling at home will be a great experience for him."

If Jurel does make the playing XI for the Kolkata Test, it will be the first instance in almost four decades in Test cricket where India have featured two specialist keepers in the same line-up. In 1986, Kiran More and Chandrakant Pandit did play a couple of Tests (one in England and one in India) with the latter playing as a specialist batter.

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