India have called up List A record-holder N Jagadeesan as a replacement for Rishabh Pant for the fifth Test against England at The Oval, starting Thursday. Here’s why.
Jagadeesan has replaced Pant, who was ruled out of the fifth and final Test against England after fracturing his right foot during the first innings at Old Trafford.
The 29-year-old Tamil Nadu keeper has been brought in as cover for Dhruv Jurel, who kept wicket in the third and fourth Tests, and is expected to start in India’s XI for the series decider starting Thursday, with the visitors trailing 1-2.
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What were the reasons behind Jagadeesan's selection?
India's squad has been hit by several injuries during the series. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the entire campaign with a knee injury, while the pace bowling stocks took further hits ahead of the Manchester Test with Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh both sustaining injuries. The situation worsened when Pant, who had already started the fourth match while managing a finger injury, suffered a foot fracture, leaving India a batter light – although he did come out to bat through the pain in India's first innings in Manchester.
While Jurel remains the natural replacement for Pant as wicketkeeper, India's mounting injury list forced them to name a backup keeper as cover for the final Test. Prior to Jagadeesan's call-up, KL Rahul was the only other squad member with Test keeping experience. Though Rahul has kept wicket twice in Tests - including in a match he also scored century in during the 2021-22 South Africa tour - his last appearance behind the stumps came nearly 18 months ago, and the team management has since moved away from considering him as a primary keeping option.
Who else could have been Pant's replacements?
After being dropped from the BCCI's central contracts for 2023-24, Ishan Kishan staged a strong comeback this season, earning back his contract. His most recent first-class appearances came in June for Nottinghamshire during the County Championship, where he followed up an 87 against Yorkshire with a solid 77 against Somerset in his next outing. With an impressive Test average of 78 from his two matches, Kishan had emerged as a frontrunner for an India recall. However, the wicketkeeper-batter was reportedly ruled out of contention after sustaining a knee injury in a scooter accident.
Another outlier choice was KS Bharat, who is in the UK playing for Dulwich Cricket Club in the Surrey Cricket Championship. Bharat played seven Test matches for India in 2024, managing a best of 44. Though he is technically sound with the gloves, Bharat’s returns with the bat and that he hasn't played a Test since February 2024 suggest India have moved on from him.
What strengthened Jagadeesan's case?
Jagadeesan has an impressive first-class record in Indian domestic circuit, having scored 3,373 runs at an average of 47.50, including 10 centuries and 14 half-centuries. His last two Ranji Trophy seasons have been particularly prolific. He emerged as Tamil Nadu’s highest run-scorer in consecutive seasons – scoring 816 runs at an average of 74.18 in 2023–24, and 674 runs at 56.16 in 2024–25. While he is yet to make his India A debut, he is among the pool of players shortlisted by the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence over the past 12 months.
Jagadeesan’s List A record is equally noteworthy, with 2,728 runs at an average of 46.23. His 277 against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy remains the highest individual score ever recorded in the format.
He was also in action for the Chepauk Super Gillies' knockout finish in TNPL 2025. He scored 180 runs at a strike rate of 173.07, with a best of 81 off 41 balls against R. Ashwin’s Dindigul Dragons in Qualifier 2 – albeit in a losing cause.
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