Nothing More for now, keep the faith

As for the Indians, World Cup 2003 has been a success story. And its plot was based on the seven-batsman formula: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Kaif, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia. And the specialist bowlers followed them. Additionally, they had two bits and pieces players in Sanjay Bangar and Ajit Agarkar who were never considered as genuine all-rounders. With seven batsmen-four bowlers mix working well, the lone full-time keeper, Parthiv, was left to cool his heels for two months in the dressing room.

Now the logic of More in the light of the success story is: ‘‘If it isn’t broken, why fix it now?’’ What all this points to is that Dravid, despite his repeated apprehension, will be stuck with a job which he ins’t keen to do. And since there isn’t any all-rounder worth winning a national cap on the horizon, the team management always runs the risk of exposing a premier batsman like Dravid to injury.

So what is the way out? The World Cup is a thing of the past and the seven-batsman theory can always be debated since Mongia’s contribution in South Africa was almost nil.

Instead of waiting for the emergence of another Kapil Dev, who can take care of the all-rounder’s slot, why not make the best use of what we have? A wicketkeeper in place of the seventh batsman in a home series is worth experimenting. The chances of constant exposure to one of three ’keepers at the camp can eventually cement his place and give India a new formula which could be more foolproof than the present one.

And it is this hope that is driving the young keepers at Bangalore. On a single day, they take about 300-400 catches leaving them with sore hands and tired limbs. Ask Parthiv about the workload and he replies: ‘‘I am too tired, can we talk later?’’ Ratra, too, vouches for the punishing schedule. ‘‘More Sir takes us behind the wickets, shows us the faults. He even points out to the minutest details like collecting the balls and the importance of timing,’’ he says.

But Tilak Naidu, the oldest of the lot and a fresher at the camp, seems the most confident among them. ‘‘I am from a land of keepers, so it has been easier for me. I have been through similar drills at the Australian Academy,’’ he says.

Now the big question for their mentor and selector More. Who among them will make the final cut? ‘‘Too early to say anything. Obviously if they were not good enough they wouldn’t have been here,’’ revels More. And that should keep the young boys on their toes for the rest of the days.