Parthiv Patel reckons India’s young wicketkeepers are not getting “consistent run” to secure their place in the national side and thus he urged the team management to show a little more patience.
While Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant are competing for the wicketkeeper slot in the longest format, India currently does not have a fixed glovesman in limited-overs cricket.
Pant was seen as the legendary MS Dhoni's successor until KL Rahul emerged as a reliable wicketkeeper batsman in white-ball cricket. Rahul kept the wickets in the ODI series against Australia in January and also during the tour of New Zealand.
“I don’t think we are not getting any fixed wicketkeeper. We have KS Bharat for India A … Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul … Saha is your number 1 Test wicketkeeper. But I genuinely feel we can get a bit more consistency so that you have the assurance,” Parthiv said during an Instagram chat.
“Everyone has it in them … It’s about getting a bit more consistent run,” he added.
Commenting on the evolution of wicketkeeping, the 35-year-old said: “I think wicket-keepers are all-rounders. You have to keep a mindset that you’re a pure batsman and not a wicketkeeper. If you think your job will be done by just scoring 30-odd runs and then will keep. It will not happen anymore.
“There has been an evolution totally. People want your wicketkeeper to score runs. You can then play with five bowlers in a Test. You will have more chances of getting 20 wickets.”
Parthiv Patel was a tad unlucky in a way that his earlier days of international career overlapped with the rise of a certain Dhoni.
Nonetheless, Patel’s impressive showing in the domestic circuit in addition to some noteworthy performances in the Indian Premier League often brought him into the international scene. In fact, he got the chance to play Test cricket against England and South Africa in 2016 and 2018 as a replacement for injured Saha.
Stressing on the importance of striking a balance between scoring runs and keeping, Parthiv said: “When I was on the Australia tour (in 2018), (MSK) Prasad was chairman, I had told him that when a wicketkeeper comes to team it’s only because of his runs he scored but when he is dropped it’s because of poor keeping.
“You have to strike the right balance. You have to keep that mindset.”
(With PTI inputs)
