Saba Karim opens up about backup wicketkeeping options

With slightly less than a month left on his contract with the Board as an Indian selector, Saba Karim has a lot of good times to reflect back on. Although his international career was prematurely cut short when he was struck in the eye by a rising delivery from Anil Kumble, Karim has been a fine servant of Indian cricket in recent times courtesy of his selection policies that are in place.

Being a wicketkeeper himself, Saba Karim knows a thing or two about having a backup wicketkeeper for the Indian team. At the moment, Naman Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, and Sanju Samson are some of the keepers on the fringes.

However, in spite of this, Karim believes that MS Dhoni can continue playing for the Indian team even if he is not the captain. He also went on to add that Dhoni was one of the fitter players in the Indian team at the moment.

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“I don’t know why and how this perception has come up that Dhoni can’t be a part of the team if he doesn’t have his captaincy. His fitness levels have certainly gone up. However, it’s up to the present selectors now to decide if they want him in their scheme of things looking at the World Cup in 2019. The current selectors need to have a vision,” Karim was quoted by Cricbuzz.

The former Indian keeper went on to add the importance of finding good resources for wicketkeeping-batsmen at the moment. He also touched upon the fact that KL Rahul would be a contender to take over the gloves from MS Dhoni should such a situation arise in the near future.

“There is a problem with the resources, especially in wicketkeeping Wriddhiman Saha is just growing into his job in Tests. But in limited-overs, Rahul looks good to don the gloves. His glove work has potential but a lot of work has to be done with wicketkeepers. At the moment, Dhoni is doing pretty well,” he added.

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