There’s No One To Help Wicketkeepers In India, Says Kiran More

For the past one decade or so, if there is one thing that Indian cricket did not bother about at all then it has to be wicketkeeping. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s calm presence behind the presence never made India feel the need of a backup wicketkeeper as much as it is feeling now.

Wriddhiman Saha has a brilliant job since replacing Dhoni behind the stumps in Tests, but the need of a backup wicketkeeper has been now sorely felt by the team since Saha suffered an injury before the second Test against South Africa.  Parthiv Patel had replaced him in Centurion but failed to justify the decision with a poor display behind the stumps.

There’s No One To Help Wicketkeepers In India, Says Kiran More
Dhoni retired from Tests in 2014 (Credits: AFP)

Reports are suggesting that Dinesh Karthik, who was recalled to the Test side after the second Test, is likely to replace Patel for the final Test in Johannesburg.  With the wicketkeepers’ situation in the country, a bit alarming at the moment, former India wicketkeeper Kiran More has opined that the keepers in India lack proper guidance and believes that specialist coaches for wicketkeepers who can travel with the team and get the keeper ready before the first game on an away tour.

Players fail to justify inclusion:

Parthiv Patel, a surprise inclusion in the Test squad, was handed the responsibility of donning the gloves in the second Test but his performance in the second Test has left a lot to be desired. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who had made his Test debut even before Dhoni made it to the Indian team, dropped several catches as India ultimately paid the price by losing the game as well as the series.

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There’s No One To Help Wicketkeepers In India, Says Kiran More
Credits: BCCI

Backup wicketkeeper always a luxury:

Even when Dhoni arrived in international cricket around almost 15 years ago as a soothing balm for the selectors’ headache, the backup wicketkeeper was a luxury that Indian cricket rarely enjoyed. The fact that nearly 33-year-olds Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik are now being relied upon pretty much shows the dearth of wicketkeepers in the country.

Young wicketkeepers not as promising:

The likes of Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been very promising with the bat, but when it comes to wicketkeeping, they have not been as much promising, much to the concerns of the team management. Recently, chief selector MSK Prasad had also admitted that the wicketkeepers in the country are yet to achieve the expected levels.

There’s No One To Help Wicketkeepers In India, Says Kiran More
Credits: BCCI

“Let me tell you frankly. The boys are not up to the levels we expect. We’ll keep giving them chances in the India ‘A’ series,” Prasad had said while announcing the ODI team for South Africa last month.

No one to help wicketkeepers in India:

With the current situation not showing a pretty picture, More has also given his views on it.

“There’s no one to help wicketkeepers in India,” More told The Times of India. “That’s not enough. You ought to have people assigned to monitor their growth in domestic games. Video footage is available but no one to monitor and help these boys. We even need wicket-keeping coaches who can travel with the team and get the glovemen ready before the first game on an away tour.

There’s No One To Help Wicketkeepers In India, Says Kiran More
Credits: AFP

Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta also gave his views on the matter, saying:

“The mindset has to change. You can’t encourage the idea of ‘we are fine till you keep scoring runs’. You need scouts for ‘keepers. At the moment one comes to know about a wicketkeeper only through the media. Only those who score runs come up as wicketkeeping prospects. People were even talking about KL Rahul keeping wickets for India.”

Here is the news feed:

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