Srikar Bharat

KS Bharat is an accomplished wicketkeeper-batter who has earned seven Test caps for India, featuring prominently in five matches against Australia in 2023 and two against England in 2024. A naturally gifted gloveman, Bharat’s path behind the stumps was unconventional—he didn’t keep wicket in a competitive match until his final year of Under-19 cricket. From that point, he faced stiff competition from the technically flawless Wriddhiman Saha and the explosive Rishabh Pant for a place in India’s Test side.

Bharat received his maiden India call-up in November 2019 but had to wait until February 2023 to make his Test debut, stepping in following Pant’s unfortunate car accident. Before that, he had briefly kept wicket as a substitute during the 2021 Kanpur Test against New Zealand, taking two catches and executing a stumping when Saha was sidelined with a stiff neck.

His first five Tests came against Australia—four in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home and the fifth in the World Test Championship final at The Oval. While he displayed moments of brilliance behind the stumps, inconsistency affected some performances. With the bat, Bharat made promising starts but struggled to convert these into substantial innings, leading to his omission midway through the England series in 2024.

Bharat made history in domestic cricket as the first wicketkeeper-batter to score a triple-century in the Ranji Trophy. Opening for Andhra, he blasted 308 off 311 balls against Goa in the 2014-15 season, marking not only the first triple-century by an Andhra batter but also cementing his reputation as a formidable top-order batsman. His domestic record remains impressive, maintaining an average close to 40 in the Ranji Trophy since the COVID period.

In the IPL, Bharat’s journey has seen him represent multiple franchises. Initially signed by Delhi Daredevils in 2015, he didn’t play a match and was released after the season. He returned in 2021 with Royal Challengers Bangalore and subsequently featured in the squads of Delhi Capitals (2022), Gujarat Titans (2023), and Kolkata Knight Riders (2024), though opportunities remained limited.

In 2025, Bharat enjoyed his first English club stint, playing for Dulwich in the Surrey Premier League. After a brilliant century on league debut, he went on to amass 1,413 runs at an impressive average of 56.52 across the club and several Sunday league sides before returning to compete in the Andhra Premier League in early August.

With nearly 10,000 domestic runs and over 50 caps as Andhra’s skipper, Bharat is now eager to experience County Cricket in 2026. Should that not materialize, he remains open to playing Premier league club cricket. His wealth of experience, sharp wicketkeeping skills, and proven ability to contribute valuable runs at the top order make him one of the highest-profile signings anticipated this summer.