The collapse of the Indian team’s character invariably comes about from the compromise corner. There is one marriage of convenience, however, which has worked wonders for the Indian team, at least thus far. Rahul Dravid, in his unfamiliar role as wicket-keeper restores balance to the team and gives India the opportunity to form the elusive winning combination. India has used its most reliable and hard-working member like a yo-yo, pushing him up and down the batting order and then burdening him with the wicket-keeping gloves as well. But by doing that, the team has got the much-needed breathing space in the absence of a quality all-rounder. It affords India the chance to play an extra batsman. And Dravid needs to be lauded for accepting the unfamiliar burden in the interests of the side, though his wicket-keeping is like riding a bicycle without a saddle, uncomfortably. India has invested a lot in Dravid, right from the tour of the West Indies last year and he has been consistently retained in the wicket-keeper’s slot in the runup to the World Cup. Choosing the Indian vice-captain for the dual role is a gamble but Dravid is pivotal in lending balance to the team. After all, team composition is like a jigsaw puzzle, if even one or two pieces fall apart, the picture becomes hazy and cluttered. Just think of the Indian team with Dravid as a specialist batsman and Parthiv Patel behind the stumps. The 17-year-old Patel, with his one-match experience in limited-overs cricket is raw and there is no way India can risk playing a greenhorn like him. The balance goes haywire, with the side having to drop a batsman of Mohammad Kaif’s calibre or a specialist bowler from an attack that is perceived as the weak link in the team. If the Indian team had a genuine allrounder like Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, let alone someone like Kapilpaaji, it would have been a different story altogether. But the ones closest to being called allrounders are Ajit Agarkar and Sanjay Bangar. Agarkar is more a bowling allrounder and his form is as fickle as a weathercock while Bangar’s skills primarily lie with the willow. It is very easy to criticise Dravid’s job behind the stumps but, to be fair, he has done a good fist of keeping wickets though you really cannot draw blood out of stone. He has made his sacrifices in accepting the unfamiliar role — without even a mild crib. I reckon Dravid is ideally suited to bat at No.4, which calls for a batsman to rotate the strike and ensure that India has the wickets in hand in the end. If the Indian team persists with the ploy that it unfurled in the warm-up match this week, with Sachin Tendulkar at No.3 and Dravid following him, it will give the vice-captain the chance to play the dual role really well. Indeed, Dravid’s wicket-keeping gives the team lucrative extra option, though the investment in his dual role is like riding a tiger — you can’t dismount.
