Opportunity knocks, door ajar

That sentiment was even reflected in the shot played by Wriddhiman Saha in the famous Adelaide chase where he crashed and burnt. The bravado, the all-out aggression and the inherent desire to be heroic didn’t seem to belong of a man who believed he could make it to Test team very often.

The rarity of the occasion seemed to liberate Saha, nay almost force him into full-fledged aggression. It of course didn’t work — in fact the adrenalin pushed him over the line of control – but that’s beside the point. The fact is Dhoni didn’t allow many keepers to harbour any real hopes of playing for India. Suddenly, now, there is a Test spot up for grabs. Even the likes of Sanju Samson who isn’t a specialist keeper in the longer format but such are the times and the list of contenders, that even he can dream of getting in.

The first right of refusal of course lies with Saha. Neat behind the stumps but he has to prove his worth in front of it. With India yet to find a regular No 6, with Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara still struggling to find a way out of personal hell, and with a weak tail, India will prefer a keeper who can bat. In other words, a keeper who can bat will have a better chance of success. And so, Saha will have to contribute with the bat. He has a pretty efficient technique that equips him to handle pace and it will come down to the space between his ears. The pressure to hold a spot can be more claustrophobic than the pressure to get into the team.

Then there is Karthik, whose self-destruction had paved the way for Saha in the first place. A batsman with a wonderful repertoire of shots, and a defensive technique that allowed him once to score a fine 63 in South Africa and a superb 91 in England as an opener but a man who has been unable to tame his nervous energy. And the pressure of expectation he puts upon himself.

As a keeper too he can be schizophrenic — delight or disappoint. It should hurt him that people with lesser talent than him have had greater careers than him. On Sunday, he refused to speak about his chances, preferring to let his bat, and gloves, to do the talking.

And then we have Parthiv Patel. His guts was never in question— he can still put up a valiant show with the bat— but it was his keeping skills that first pushed him out of reckoning. He has improved since then but has seen other contenders go past him. But at 29, he isn’t younger or older than the other contenders and knows that he can still have one last crack at the Test team.

“Now that we will not have to compete with an Indian captain who was wicketkeeper, it will be great motivation for me to work harder and try to get a place in Test team,” Parthiv told The Indian Express.

“I have been working hard for quite a while now and at the same time have been scoring runs too. Be it Ranji or Duleep I have tried to give my best wherever I have got chance. It was tough for any wicketkeeper to get a break because you know the fact that captain of Indian team is wicket keeper. This season will be the key.”

And finally, there is Naman Ojha, the man who went to Australia as the man behind Saha. With his batting being better than his keeping, he used to be viewed as a good option for limited-overs format but the latest selection to Australia has meant that he can dream bigger. “I have been performing well for past two years now. I performed brilliantly for India A and then in the Duleep Trophy; so it’s natural now to look out for a place in the national team. If you look at all wicket keepers’ performances in recent past, I have done well.”

It’s going to be a fascinating battle for that one spot. Even if Saha does well at Sydney, the contenders can now dream for the door to re-open in the future.