Jasprit Bumrah celebrating a wicket with KS Bharat (Source: AFP Photos)
One of India’s World Test Championship (WTC) final players, KS Bharat, joined a team in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The decision came days after the international retirement of the man himself, who had played seven Tests for the country.
Bharat, aged 32 now, played a Test match for India last time in February 2024. During the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2023, which took place at The Oval between India and Australia, Bharat kept wickets for the Rohit Sharma-led side.
There, he made 5 and 23 across both innings.
Team Stallions To Have KS Bharat In The UAE
The UAE board on Thursday announced that there will be a white-ball tournament in the country, which will have seven matches. It will begin on Friday (June 19), and all the matches will take place at the ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai.
There, KS Bharat is included in one of those teams, known as Team Stallions. All the matches will be two-days affairs, with four teams competing for the championship called ECB Two-Day Championship 2026.
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Team Stallions: Ajay Kumar, Ali Naseer, Ansh Tandon, Harish Seth, Ibrar Ahmed, Jash Gayanani, K.S. Bharat (wicketkeeper), Rahul Chopra, Samarth Seth, Syed Muhammad Haider Shah, Uddish Suri, Vaibhav Govekar and Yug Sharma
ECB Two-Day Championship 2026 Full Schedule
- 19-20 June, Team Falcons vs Team Leopards – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 21-22 June, Team Stallions vs Team Eagles – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 24-25 June, Team Falcons vs Team Stallions – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 26-27 June, Team Leopards vs Team Eagles – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 29-30 June, Team Falcons vs Team Eagles – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 1-2 July, Team Leopards vs Team Stallions – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
- 4-5 July, Final – ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai
When Can KS Bharat Play For The UAE?
However, as per the ICC rules, there is a three-year stand-down period for a player who decides to take international from one nation with an aim to play for another country. For Bharat’s case, it will be the same.
If that happens, Bharat will not be eligible for the UAE’s selection for any major tournament till February 2027. Nevertheless, he will be make himself available for selection for the UAE’s franchise competitions, among other tournaments.
KS Bharat's Stats
Apart from playing seven Tests for India, where Bharat made 220 runs at an average of just 20.09, he played 113 First-Class matches.
In addition, he played 83 List A matches and 91 T20s, of which 10 were from the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he played for Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
More significantly, Bharat was in the mix for India’s set-up since 2019. However, he could only make his debut in 2023, against Australia in Nagpur.
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