Dravid to keep wickets in remaining ODIs?

It has been reliably learnt that Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid will don the gloves for the remaining matches of the Standard Bank Triangular Tournament. Unimpressed by the performance of Bengal youngster Deep Dasgupta, the Indian think tank has decided to foist additional responsibility on Dravid. The move will free up one batting slot, which will be occupied by VVS Laxman when he returns after a long post-surgery layoff.

For Deep Dasgupta, this is a moment of great disappointment, as it could foretell not just a break, but possibly an end to his career. With three Test matches against South Africa coming up right after the one-day series, the Indian selectors will be on the look-out for a specialist wicketkeeper. In the recently concluded Irani Trophy fixture, the selectors pitted veteran Baroda stumper Nayan Mongia against rookie hopeful Ajay Ratra. That is certainly a strong indicator of things to come.

Chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde is quoted in The Hindu as having said, "There is not much difference between Dasgupta and Ratra. But we feel Dasgupta is a better batsman and that's why he is in the team." With this being the case, one wonders why there is a need to jettison the youngster after just five one-day internationals. Although he has been no genius behind the stumps, Dasgupta has been tidy, conceding just seven byes in five games. A natural gloveman, Dasgupta is seen by many as a candidate for higher honours. It must also be remembered that Dasgupta was described as "brilliant" by former Aussie stumper Rodney Marsh.

Although never keen to take up the extra burden, Dravid has always done so dutifully and without complaint when asked to by the team management. Whether the move to ask Dravid to keep wickets is a good one can be discussed ad nauseum. It must be said, however, that it is no more than a band-aid solution to what appears to be a niggling problem facing Indian cricket. If, after making the move, the chairman of selectors still insists that the Board of Control for Cricket in India is looking to build a team for the 2003 World Cup, not too many people will take him seriously.

An interesting aside is that this kind of solution is not new to Borde. Wind the clock back to the 1970-71 season: on the eve of the Irani Trophy at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta, where MAK Pataudi's Rest of India are all set to take on Ajit Wadekar's Mumbai, Pataudi withdraws and Borde is named captain. In a flash, Borde decides that Pune boy Hemant Kanitkar will keep wicket for Rest of India. His explanation, at that point, was that Kanitkar had once kept wickets in school. Thirty years later, in the Challenger Trophy this year, Borde did the same thing, pushing Punjab's Vikram Rathour into the keeper's role.

Given these circumstances and historical incidents, perhaps one should not be surprised if Dravid has been asked to keep wickets.