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K S Bharat hasn't had an impressive outing with the willow in the first two Tests against England, but former India opener Aakash Chopra believes the wicket-keeper-batter should be given another opportunity.
The fight for a spot in the Indian team is always a tightly contested one. And Chopra believes Bharat should be given another opportunity, despite reports stating Dhruv Jurel might replace him in the third Test in Rajkot.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, 'It's been heard that Dhruv Jurel will be handed his debut cap. I am thinking whether it's right or wrong.
'Only two Tests have happened. I want him (Bharat) to keep in all five, but if you still need batting that much, Bharat deserves to be given at least one more match,' Chopra said.
So far, Bharat has scored 221 runs from seven Tests, at an average of 20.09.
Chopra asserted that Bharat should be judged on his wicket-keeping skills and not his batting performance.
'I would say Srikar Bharat should firstly be judged on his 'keeping and I feel he is keeping decently. The pitches are difficult and that's why you weren't getting K L Rahul to keep.'
'You said you wanted a specialist 'keeper. So he is doing his job fully as a specialist 'keeper,' Chopra added.
With the series level 1-1, India take on England in the third Test in Rajkot, starting from Thursday, February 15.