4 wicketkeepers India could try in the Test series against Australia

After the exit of Narayan Mongia from international cricket in 2001, India struggled to find a wicketkeeper-batsman and had to try six different wicket-keepers (Samir Dighe, Vijay Dhaiya, Ajay Ratra, Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik) in Test cricket before finding a long-haired maverick in 2004-2005.

Dhoni had stamped his authority as the prime wicket-keeper batsman for India by 2008. He took 256 catches and effected 38 stumpings along with amassing 4876 runs in 90 Test matches at a decent average of 38.09. Just like after the exit of Mongia India had to struggle to find a wicket-keeper batsman India is struggling to find one after the retirement of Dhoni. After Dhoni's departure, India has tried five different wicket-keeper batsman (Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant) without much success with Saha being the only success but he too has been sidelined with injuries.

In this list, we take a look at the top 5 contenders for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot in the Indian batting lineup.

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#4 Ishan Kishan

His dominating style of batting has caught quite a few eyeballs in the IPL.

Ishan Kishan is a left-handed opener who represents Jharkhand in the Ranji trophy. He became a known figure among the cricket enthusiasts when he was named the captain of India's 2016 U19 World Cup team.

He had a miserable U19 World Cup as he was only able to manage 73 runs in six innings at an average of 12, but he soon managed to turn his fortunes in the 2016-17 Ranji season scoring 799 runs at an average of 57. The left-hander was Jharkhand's highest run-getter in the 2017-18 season with 494 runs from 6 matches.

The left-hander got picked for the 2017 IPL season by Gujrat Lions for 35 lakhs. He was then brought by Mumbai Indians for a whopping 6.2 crore bid this year. He scored 275 runs for the Mumbai Indians at a strike rate of 149 and was as safe as a house behind the stumps. The southpaw can be a dark horse in the race for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot.

#3 Sanju Samson

The talented young man's career has been a rollercoaster ride.

Sanju Samson is a brilliant, talented wicketkeeper-batsman from Kerela. He carries with himself his solid technique both with the bat and behind the stumps. Currently 23, Samson made his Ranji debut against Vidarbha at the age of 17. The very next year on the back of his first-class runs he got picked for KKR in the 2012 IPL edition.

The very next year he moved on to RR and performed remarkably well. He was also the highest run scorer in the U19 Cricket World Cup. He even made his T20I debut for India against in 2015 where he scored 19 runs. After this was where the roller coaster ride began he had a miserable 2015-16 Ranji season where he only managed to score at an average of 22.4 and to make matters worse he was dropped from the Kerela side for the 2016-17 edition.

This year was turning out to be the year of redemption of Samson having scored at an average of 70 in the Ranji season and scoring over 400 runs for RR in the IPL until he failed the yo-yo test for India A's tour to England. The wicketkeeper-batsman is still in contention for the spot and good performances in the first couple of rounds of Ranji trophy this year may be the boost he needs.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

The veteran has been around even before the Dhoni era began.

Dinesh Karthik has been a veteran in Domestic cricket amassing 9200 first-class runs at an average of 42. He was also among the host of wicketkeepers tried after the retirement of Nayan Mongia and before coming across Dhoni. Throughout his career, he has been in the shadow of Dhoni and has been consistently in and out of the side.

His most recent stint playing for India was the first two Test matches of this England series. He was not able to impress with his scores of 0,20,1,0 in 4 innings. Rishabh Pant replaced him for the rest of the series. With Rishabh Pant not being able to make a mark with the bat or with the gloves and with Saha still being out of the team his chances to make it to the Australia Test series are quite relevant, he only needs some good performances in the upcoming Asia cup followed by the West Indies series.

#1 Rishabh Pant

Pant has been considered as the successor of Dhoni by many cricket experts.

Pant is a 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who plays both Ranji and IPL for Delhi. Pant first came into the reckoning after 2016 U19 World Cup where he scored 267 runs at a strike rate of 104 and an average of 45 which included a blistering 24-ball 75 against Nepal and a hundred against Namibia.

Then, he was brought by DD for the 2016 IPL season. The very same year he went on to score 972 Ranji runs in the season with an average of 81 and a strike rate of 107. After this, he made his T20I debut for India against England where he remained not out on 5. It was only through 2017 IPL season when Pant got recognized by a majority of fans. He went on to score 366 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 165.

Having not had the best possible Ranji season, Pant made up for it in the 2018 IPL where he scored 684 runs second to only Kane Williamson at a strike rate of 173 with five 50s and a mind-boggling hundred against SRH.

Pant was selected for England Test series and made his Test debut and has played the last three Test matches without making any positive impression. After all this Pant with age on his side and a great IPL and Ranji record backing him, India has to show more faith in the southpaw.

Yes, even after failing to impress in the England Test series Pant remains to be the top contender for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot in India's lineup.