Prasanna and Kirmani want second wicket-keeper in the Indian squad

The trend these days is to take only one wicketkeeper on a tour. But two former Indian cricketers Erapalli Prasanna and Syed Kirmani are firmly of the opinion that a second stumper is a must for every Indian touring squad. CricInfo caught up with the two in Bangalore as soon as the Indian Test team for the three Test series in Sri Lanka was announced. Besides the issue of the second wicketkeeper, both Prasanna and Kirmani aired their views on the selection .

Prasanna's first reaction was, "I am rather disappointed because of the fact that we still have only keeper to start with. A second keeper would have got to know the environment of the team, attitude and aptitude of the senior players, which is a part acclimitisation and induction."

The former spin great felt that there are two good wicket-keepers in Deep Das Gupta and Ajay Ratra, who also happens to be in the NCA. "I would have been happy to see one of them in the squad. My choice will be Das Gupta. He is a better bat, a competent keeper and above all a natural athlete. To top it all, Das Gupta could also open the innings."

Prasanna was of the view that a young player like Vinayak Mane who had gone to Australia on the Border-Gavaskar scholarship and attended a camp at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Adelaide should have got a place in the team. However, he was happy to see Mohd Kaif back in the squad. He said, " I was one who has been advocating for him. It is just a matter of faith and trust. He will also come through like Shewag and Yuvraj for he is a very promising player.

The former Indian off spinner was of the view that the team doesn't need eight batsmen in a squad of sixteen, given the fact that the Indian batting line up is fairly settled. As for recalling Venkatesh Prasad, he said, "he is a good bowler. But it is not a progresive move. It is a regressive move. I would have inducted youngsters. Salabh Srivastava and Swapnil Hazare are two young fast bowlers in the NCA and they are capable of stepping in and delivering the goods."

Prasanna felt that young players should be promoted and help add the bench strength of the side. "We wasted the opportunity in the Zimbabwe series, now we have lost it again in Sri Lanka."

On the spinning front, he was happy with Sairaj Bahutule, who had spent almost three weeks at the NCA after the Zimbabwe series and has developed his skills. However, Prasanna couldn't hide his disappointment of not seeing Sarandeep Singh in the squad. "He should have been in the squad ever since his debut. He should have been in the Test series against Australia, in Zimbabwe and now, for he is as good as Harbhajan Singh."

Kirmani was happy to see Prasad make a comeback and said that this was a balanced team. He added, "If you were to ask me, the promising players from the ODIs should have been in the Test series as well."

Kirmani's only area of concern was wicket-keeping, which is synonymous with his name. He said, "I have always been of the opinion that there should be two wicket-keepers. Why I emphasise on this is you are sort of nursing an understudy. I will not want to risk a key player like Rahul Dravid.

"I think Ajay Ratra should have got the nod and he should be in the team along with Dighe. You have to look ahead, to the future. So much talent and promise is coming into the forefront. You have to encourage all these lads. If you are looking back, you are not doing justice to the kids.

"I have seen Ratra from close quarters. He was the India Under-19s captain and is a natural keeper with good temperament. Ratra should have been in the side in the first place." Kirmani was quick to add that Dighe is getting better with each game."

As for selection of the Indian side, Kirmani was of the view that most members of the squad pick themselves and the selectors have to pick only a handful. He was of the view that any player selected to the squad should be given a probation period of four or six innings. This will help the youngsters to play their natural game without the pressures of failure, for every player has it in the back of his mind that he could be dropped.