“Welcome local hero and pride of Andhra KS Bharat.” There were several such posters on the roads connecting to the ACA-VDCA Stadium ahead of the second India-England Test.

One of the stands at the stadium even had a giant poster featuring Bharat, wishing him all the best for his maiden Test appearance at home.

The first two Tests against England were certainly a fantastic opportunity for KS Bharat to try and cement his place in the squad with Rishabh Pant still recovering and Ishan Kishan out with a break. With the uncapped Dhruv Jurel being the other keeper-batter in the squad for the first two Tests, Bharat became the automatic choice in the XI on the basis of his seniority.

But is his place secure after the just-concluded Test?

To be fair to Bharat, he did put up a decent job with the wicketkeeping gloves. But in terms of his batting, there aren’t too many reasons to be optimistic.

Last month for India ‘A’, the 30-year-old had come up with scores of 64 and 116
not out against England Lions in Ahmedabad. That did
inspire hopes in the Indian team management ahead of the five-match series against Ben Stokes and Co.

But again, Bharat flattered to deceive. He did reasonably well with scores of 41 and 28 in the series opener in Hyderabad, but at home and on a better surface to bat, Bharat’s application was far from good.

Head coach Rahul Dravid’s comments, if read and analysed carefully, suggest the team management isn’t too pleased with Bharat’s batting effort. “Disappointed is a strong word (for Bharat). I would not use that word. Young players take time to develop at times. They grow at their own pace.

“As a coach, you want players to grab the opportunities. Bharat’s keeping has been good while he’ll also agree that with his batting, he could have done better,” Dravid had said after his India’s series-levelling 106-run win.

The shots that Bharat played in both innings of the second Test were quite ordinary. However, according to some experts, he’s still relatively new to international cricket and could be given another chance.

“Behind the stumps, Bharat has done well. Besides, India have won the Test and momentum is with them. That’s what counts going into the next game,” former India wicketkeeper and ex-chief selector Kiran More told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

“When it comes to someone who’s still relatively new, the player should be given at least three chances so that he feels a little bit secure. If he fails in all those three attempts, then you can obviously bring in someone else,” another former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, also a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning side, stated.

Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma still have some time at their disposal ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, which begins on February 15, to deal with this keeper dilemma.