"Weak link" - Fans react to KS Bharat's inclusion in the playing XI for India vs England 1st Test

Keeper-batter KS Bharat found a place in Team India's playing XI for the Test series opener against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25.

Along with Bharat, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel are the other two wicketkeepers in India's squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series. With Virat Kohli opting out of the first two matches due to personal reasons, it was expected that Rahul would play as a batter, while Bharat would don the keeping gloves.

However, several fans were unhappy with Bharat's selection in the playing XI, given the 30-year-old's unimpressive record in Test cricket. Here's how several fans expressed their displeasure on social media over the wicketkeeper's inclusion:

It is worth mentioning that KS Bharat scored 116* off 165 playing for India 'A' against England Lions ahead of the five-match Test series between India and England.

Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening encounter. Here are the playing combinations of both sides:

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

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KS Bharat failed to make a significant impact with the bat during India's home Test series against Australia last year

KS Bharat's most recent Test appearance came during India's World Test Championship Final (WTC) clash against Australia last year.

However, it was a forgettable outing for him as he registered scores of 5 and 23. He also received a lot of flak for his underwhelming performance last year during India's four-match home Test series against Australia.

The right-handed batter mustered just 101 runs across six innings at a dismal average of 20.20. Bharat has yet another opportunity to prove his worth at the highest level by doing well in the Hyderabad Test against England.