It is a good time to be a wicket-keeper in Indian cricket: Parthiv Patel

Veteran ‘keeper Parthiv Patel is of the opinion that the current competitive scenario regarding the position of a wicketkeeper is a good thing for the Indian cricket. He also feels that the rotation of the job between two or three strong and experienced contenders is a much better prospect rather than recruiting a new face every now and then, which used to be the situation at one point.

Patel has been picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for this year’s IPL. In a promotional event organized by the franchise, when asked to comment on the matter, he said, “On the contrary, I feel this is a great phase for wicketkeepers.”

“There was a time when wicketkeepers were dropped and changed every now and then, but now we have two-three players who are in contention for the job. It is good to have competition for Indian cricket,” he added.

Parthiv had been groomed since 2001 to be India’s keeper

Other than Patel, the other two frontrunners for the berth of wicketkeeper are Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha. All of them are more or less of the same age, but Parthiv is the senior-most in terms of cricketing career.

Bringing up his debut way back in 2001, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani recently stated that Patel has not been groomed well for the job ever since; to which he had no reaction to offer right now. “Like others, he is entitled to an opinion, but I don’t want to react to anything, be it good or bad, at this point in time. Maybe after some years when I hang my boots, I will only react to things said about me, but not now,” is all Patel had to say.

Before that he mentioned “At this point of my career, I don’t think I should be reacting to anything said about me. I have a lot of respect for Kirmani sir and have learned a lot of skills from him.”

Both Patel and Karthik have been around the international circuit for much more than a decade, but none could really dig their heels deep in the team. A big reason for that was obviously the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who rightfully monopolized the role of the keeper for quite a few years in the middle. He is still around for the ODIs and T20s and good enough at his job.