Rahul Dravid confirms KL Rahul as wicketkeeper for 1st Test vs South Africa: 'He hasn't done that often in Tests but...'

Team India will return to action in the longest format of the game for the first time since July earlier this year when they face South Africa on December 26. Chasing their first-ever Test series win in the rainbow nation, the side sees the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the fold, who are set to make their first international appearance since the forgettable World Cup final last November, when the side faced a crushing defeat to Australia. There's a 31-year jinx in Indian cricket having missed out on a Test series win in South Africa and in the twilight of their careers, both would want to achieve what no other Indian teams could.

Another senior member returning to the Test team after an injury-forced hiatus is KL Rahul; the India batter had made a return to the ODI side in the Asia Cup earlier this year, but was forced to miss the World Test Championship final in June, as well as the series against West Indies after the injury during the 2023 IPL.

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And it seems Rahul will take on a new role as he returns to the whites. The India star had donned the wicketkeeping gloves in the ODI format during the fifty-over World Cup, and head coach Rahul Dravid all but confirmed that the 29-year-old will retain the role during the Test series against South Africa. In a pre-match press conference conducted on Sunday, Dravid stated that Rahul is “confident” of keeping the wickets in the longest format.

“It's an exciting challenge. It's an opportunity for him to do something different. With Ishan unavailable, we had a couple of keepers to choose from. Rahul is very confident about giving it a go. We understand that he hasn't done that quite often (in longest format), but he has done it in fifty overs, and even that is tough,” Dravid said.

“He has done a lot of keeping in the past five-six months. One of the things here is that there is more pace bowling than spin, which will ease him into the role. We will see how it goes. It is nice to have someone like him, someone who has the ability with the bat and keep,” said the Indian head coach.

Rahul had recently captained the Indian team in the 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa, and also kept the wickets in the deciding final match.