Wicketkeepers should strike the right balance between runs and keeping ability, remarks Parthiv Patel

Since MS Dhoni walked off the field against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals, India have tried and tested three wicketkeepers behind the stumps. While two of them - KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant - appear to have emerged as the frontrunners for the job, their future is still uncertain. Pant, who missed out on the ODI series against Australia and New Zealand returned to the fore in the two-match Test series, where he excelled. 

However, his selection only emphasized the fact that he was a better batsman to India’s Test No.1 choice, Wriddhiman Saha. 35-year-old Parthiv Patel remarked that keepers should strike the right balance between scoring runs and their keeping ability behind the stumps. 

"When I was on the Australia tour (in 2018), (MSK) Prasad was chairman, I had told him that when a wicketkeeper comes to team it's only because of his runs he scored but when he is dropped it's because of poor keeping. You have to strike the right balance. You have to keep that mindset," he said on an Instagram Live, reported TOI. 

While India have three glovesmen at their disposal, the Gujarat keeper rued the chances that they have got in the past. He reckoned that giving the keepers a consistent run will only help the cause for the national team. 

"I don't think we are not getting any fixed wicketkeeper. We have KS Bharat for India A ... Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul ... Saha is your number 1 Test wicketkeeper. But I genuinely feel we can get a bit more consistency so that you have the assurance," Patel concluded.