Clock is ticking for Naman Ojha and Wade

The blazing sun beats down on the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Naman Ojha and Matthew Wade, though, are floating on thin ice. These are testing times for Indian as well as Australian wicketkeepers.

Brad Haddin, who had been the engine room of the Australian middle order in the 2013-14 Ashes at home, finds himself thrown out of gear this time. He opted out of the Lord's Test citing personal reasons and was later jettisoned for the inexperienced Peter Nevill on the eve of the third Test.

Australia A wicketkeeper Wade, who was chosen for the 2013 Ashes, has slipped down the pecking order too. It was Wade who benefitted from Haddin's first instance of opting out due to personal reasons when he left the West Indies in 2012 and the Australian selectors opted for Wade for the next 10 Tests. But Nevill has overtaken Wade since then.

On the Indian front, when MS Dhoni was rested from the Zimbabwe tour, the selectors picked three back-up wicketkeepers in Robin Uthappa, Kedhar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu, ahead of specialist wicketkeepers Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha and Sanju Samson.

While Saha, who became the first player to score a century in an IPL final, was left wondering what went wrong, Ojha and Samson were given second chances by the selectors. Ojha was picked for the ongoing series against Australia A and Samson was added to the T20 squad in Zimbabwe after Rayudu's injury.

Samson made his international debut in the second T20I in Harare but Uthappa was the man behind the stumps. Coming in at No. 7, Samson managed only 19 off 24 balls as India went down to Zimbabwe by 10 runs.

Ojha did not impress much either, in the first unofficial Test against Australia A in Chennai, though India A captain Cheteshwar Pujara praised his wicketkeeping skills. He had ground 10 off 56 balls before getting bogged down and holing out to mid-off. In the second innings he was undone by a Marcus Stoinis offuctter for only 4.

"He [Ojha] is keeping well. The ball was turning, the ball was keeping low. So, he did a good job," Pujara said. "I think the first catch in the first innings was a very good catch. The way they [Ojha and Saha] bat, the way they keep, they are different players. I don't believe in comparisons. So, ultimately who comes into the side depends on what the selectors want."

Ojha had propelled himself into the radar of the selectors when he produced 835 runs in seven Ranji Trophy matches in 2013-14 and went on to strike 430 runs in three innings, including a double-century and two centuries, against an Australia A attack that included Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh and Nathan Lyon (who played only the first match).

Ojha's prolific form in Australia earned him a maiden call-up to the India squad for the last two Tests in England as cover for back-up wicketkeeper Saha. However, he din't get a game. Ojha also did well in the last Ranji Trophy season but the selectors feel he isn't there yet. He needs to blend runs and talent with temperament if he is to get there.

And so should Wade. He scored 572 runs in nine Sheffield Shield games at 49.48 last season but it wasn't good enough; Nevill had racked up 764 runs in 10 matches at 76.40 and had only one dismissal less than Wade. New South Wales wicketkeeper Ryan Carters isn't too far behind, either. He had a breakout 2013-14 Sheffield season with 861 runs at an average of 53.81 and racked up a 198 against Queensland last season in December.

And Wade did not help his own cause, making only 2 and having nothing to show for behind the wicket in the first unofficial Test in Chennai.

Ojha was ignored for the Sri Lanka tour as well, though India's chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil had said: "We have a standby wicketkeeper we have nominated."  The clock is ticking for Ojha. The clock is ticking for Wade too. The clock is ticking for the other wicketkeepers as well.