KL Rahul's real challenge as wicketkeeper will not be in South Africa, but on Indian rank turners: Gautam Gambhir

India have found themselves in a familiar quandary in recent times - struggling to pin down a reliable wicketkeeper. With Rishabh Pant still recovering from the horrific car accident last December, the visiting team will head into the crucial South Africa Test series with KL Rahul set to don the gloves for the first time in his Test career.

Over the past 12 months, the likes of KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have been handed the responsibility, but the absence of a consistent performer has left the team grappling with uncertainties. Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, however, does not see the upcoming challenge in South Africa as a daunting task for Rahul and, in his trademark unfiltered style, deems the situation "unfair."

“I hope this is not a one-off situation because that would be unfair. His real challenge will not be wicketkeeping in South Africa, but on rank turners, in that five Test match series against England when Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar will be bowling. No challenge is bigger than that," Gambhir told Star Sports.

The twists and turns in India's wicketkeeping saga unfolded with Bharat emerging as Pant's backup during the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year. However, despite Bharat's presence in the squad, Kishan was the first-choice keeper during the West Indies series later in the year, where he excelled both with the gloves and the bat.

Meanwhile, Kishan has opted out of the South Africa tour due to "personal reasons" leading to Bharat's elevation as the primary option and Rahul as the backup. As Rohit Sharma and co. gear up for the South Africa series, Gambhir highlighted the lack of a long-term wicketkeeping plan in Test cricket for India. He deemed Rahul's temporary assignment as a logical decision until Pant's return in 2024.

"If you are looking at these two Test matches, then I would rather not play him because I would look at long-term plans, and India don't have a long-term plan right now because you only have KS Bharat and Rahul now. But probably it is the right way of going about things in allowing KL Rahul do the job until Rishabh Pant returns,” Gambhir said.

The series against South Africa marks their second assignment in the new World Test Championship cycle after a convincing whitewash against West Indies in August.