Bengaluru, July 4: Team India's Test captain Virat Kohli on Monday, (July 4) backed Wriddhiman Saha as team's first choice wicket-keeper when the Indian cricket team embarks on West Indies for a four-match series later this month.

Kohli not thinking of No. 1 Test rank" title="Ind-WI series schedule; Kohli not thinking of No. 1 Test rank" />Ind-WI series schedule; Kohli not thinking of No. 1 Test rank

Ahead of Team India's departure for the challenging tour of Caribbean, Kohli has made it clear that it will be the Bengal batsman who'll play as specialist keeper in the longer version of the game.

Kohli dispelled the rumours that opener KL Rahul, who is a part-time keeper, will be assigned a full-time job behind the stumps.

"Obviously whenever Rahul played, he has played as an opener or as a back-up option for the opening slot. I think it is up to the team management to take a call on the batting combination but as wicket-keeping goes, Saha being a specialist keeper is always the first choice," Kohli told reporters.

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"Saha's batting has also improved a lot in the last few months and we can bank on him as he is a quality glovesman who can grab those half chances."

Kohli, who has captained Rahul in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side during the Indian Premier League (IPL), said the Karnataka batsman has worked a lot on his wicketkeeping and can be a handy option.

"KL has worked a lot on his keeping and will be a handy option if Saha has an injury. He is an established Test batsman who can also keep wickets. If Rahul has to replace Saha, the middle order batting will be boosted but being a specialist, Saha gets the preference," he said.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)