Backup wicket keeper for Dhoni

[Ultimate_Game]

I think Dhoni should be rested for meaningless odis and T20s once IPL gets over and we need to have a backup in his place. As for captain Gambhir should do well as he has a good head on his shoulders and strives in challenging situations. For the wk role the choices we have are... 1. Dinesh Karthik - Was given enough chances but as a batsman was highly inconsistent, especially in odis. He may be ok for T20s but can't see him playing long innings in odis - at best he will give you 20s or 30s and generally throws his wkt away when set. 2. Parthiv Patel - He's a decent bat at the top but am not sure about his wicket keeping skills. He was in the Akmal category when he was dropped and haven't seen enough of him to trust him just yet. Even if his keeping has improved I don't see him as a lower order bat (coming in at 5, 6 or 7) like Dhoni and his best place to bat is in top 3 which would require rejigging the batting order. 3. Robin Uthappa - Primarily a batsman who has recently started keeping wkts in the shorter format of the game. He is probably the best batsman out of the lot but his wkt keeping may not be great. I see him more of a Dravid kind of choice in early to mid 2000s when Dravid used to keep wkts to lend balance to the side. Uthappa would be ideal batsman to come in lower down the order and give it a whack. 4. Ambati Rayudu - Same reasoning as Uthappa. Is a batsman first but can keep in the shorter format for the balance of the side as he does for Mumbai Indians. He was earmarked as a great batting potential in his early days before he joined ICL and is now performing well for Mumbai Indians. He can be given a chance to see how he does at intl level in the shorter format. 5. Naman Ojha - Good wicket keeper and a decent bat but not as good a batsman as others on the list. Personally I would give Uthappa and Rayudu a go against WI and also in other T20s as we can't expect Dhoni to play every game and have a replacement ready.

[Sid]

Uthappa

[kooljatt]

Robbie without a shadow of doubt ! He needs to be a regular in Indian team , but only if Sri-kunt :finger: allows him to play for India :((

[Cricket Tragic]

Dropthiv doesn't have the game for ODIs. He can also bat only at the top of the order where we already have quality players. I'd go for Stylappa since he can bat in the middle order and has the big shots. The question is whether his keeping is good enough.

[Dark Warrior]

Uthappa / Rayadu

[cowboysfan]

I can guarantee that srikant will not pick uthappa.

[Baad Indian]

How can you forget Saurabh Tiwari? Hes the best option

[Ultimate_Game]

I can guarantee that srikant will not pick uthappa.

Why would he do that? Is there some sort of a history between the two?

[Sid]

How can you forget Saurabh Tiwari? Hes the best option

:hmmmm2:

[Ultimate_Game]

How can you forget Saurabh Tiwari? Hes the best option

We are talking about wicket keepers here

[cowboysfan]

Why would he do that? Is there some sort of a history between the two?

i think so.anyway Uthappa will only be considered for International t20s as a WK,he will be a big risk as WK in ODIs.

[Ultimate_Game]

i think so.anyway Uthappa will only be considered for International t20s as a WK' date='he will be a big risk as WK in ODIs.[/quote'] You never know unless given a chance. How many of us thought Dravid would be a decent wk but he did great and our odi team started looking good since he started keeping. I say let Uthappa get a run in intl cricket for some time starting with WI odi series which doesn't mean much anyways. If he doesn't perform given decent no. of opportunities then go with Rayudu or someone else. Fortunately or unfortunately the days of having a specialist wk like Mongia batting at no. 6 or 7 are long gone.