Indian Catching-5: Remembering Akash Chopra

The omission of opening batsman Akash Chopra from the Indian scheme of things is a cause for lament. His contributions were perhaps bigger than the physical count of his runs and his absence feels like this little spare falling off a big equipment that consequently runs with lots of noise and leak. A player in the Chopra mould had something to add to Indian long term prospects on the wickets of Eng/Aus/RSA.

Digressing a little from the topic, Akash's solid batting and ability to leave deliveries early in the innings raised hopes and he looked slightly more capable of forging that invaluable opening 50 runs with Sehwag on a regular basis in those livelier conditions than the other openers India have tried out in the recent past, including the successful Wasim Jaffer.

With no disrespect to stylish Jaffer's considerable talent, the Mumbai opener is a batsman in the VVS mould and his presence makes sure we are playing 7 middle order batsmen (in terms of methods employed to score runs) in our lineup. It is fine, even recommended, when the team plays in the subcontinent or the present West Indies, but that is as far as I dare advocate.

With a catching crisis looming large the Indians are learning of a silent value addition from Chopra that has gone missing since his departure: back in 2003 Akash used to be a brilliant close in catcher who snapped up many touch-and-go half chances in the 2003-04 tour down under.

Someone in the mould of Akash Chopra needs to be amongst the first choice openers for tours to those three nations mentioned above. Horses for courses? Yes, of course! Chopra, or any other cricketer thought to better suit that role of a traditional Test opener with good close in catching skills, needs to be identified and taken in the fold. Considering the off-and-on path that such a 'highly specialised role' player's Test-call-up-graph is expected to chart, offering a contract will be the logical way to keep the person focussed on the strengths of his game.

[next: The Skipper's Catch-22]