BENGALURU: Karnataka cricket has often been associated with a wealth of talent, leading to a problem of plenty. But all that has changed. In recent years, it has been plagued by a dearth of quality players.
Take the wicketkeeper’s position, for example. The southern powerhouse had a decorated assembly line and the gloves changed hands smoothly. From S Krishnamurthy in the 1960s, to Syed Kirmani, Sadanand Viswanath, Avinash Vaidya, Somashekar Shiraguppi, Thilak Naidu and CM Gautam, Karnataka were never found wanting in that department.
But the situation has changed over the past few seasons, following Gautam's exit in 2017-18. BR Sharath, Sharath Srinivas, Luvnith Sisodia, KL Srijith and Nihal Ullal have all kept wicket, but they haven’t been able to cement their place in the team across formats.
Sharath scored a century on Ranji Trophy debut against Vidarbha in the 2018-19 season but has since made just 246 runs in 19 innings. Seen more as a white-ball specialist, the gutsy batter scored 100 runs in seven innings in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Sharath was at his best behind the wickets with 21 dismissals (18 catches and three stumpings) to become the second wicketkeeper after Dinesh Karthik to effect 20 or more dismissals in the competition.
Sisodia was given an opportunity in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but eked out only 79 runs in five outings.
Srinivas, best remembered for his gritty 83 against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy semifinal in 2019, too has found the going tough. In his two appearances last season, he made 28 in four innings.
The inconsistency of the wicketkeepers with the bat has often translated into instability in the middle order. Nor have many of them done enough behind the stumps to redeem themselves either.
For the forthcoming red-ball reason, both the Sharaths and Ullal are among the probables, with the first two likely to get a look-in.
The two 26-year-olds have more than a point to prove, especially since Fazal Khaleel, the senior selection committee chairman, said he would lay special emphasis on the role.
“The wicketkeepers’ cupboard is almost bare,” conceded Khaleel. “We have an eye on the future and want to bring in players early. There are a few age-group youngsters who have to perform to come into the state team reckoning.”
Speaking about wicketkeeping, Khaleel said, “It is an art. I grew up watching Kirmani sir and then we had a battery of talents including Sadanand Viswanath. What I find lacking in the present-day youngsters is hunger and the pride of playing for Karnataka. This holds good across positions.”
Shiraguppi, a livewire behind the stumps in the 1990s and now a sought-after coach, pins the problem to technique.
“It is unfortunate but true that most wicketkeepers these days focus more on batting. Also, the technique of wicketkeeping has changed over the years. We grew up with the concept of sit and keep. But most keepers these days half-squat, which affects your reaction time,” said the 48-year-old.
Shiraguppi, an accomplished age-group coach, pointed out that catching them young and training them right should be the way forward.
“The fact that players are not taught the right basics is the problem. We have to develop wicketkeepers at the grassroots level. It is a specialised department which requires specific skill sets. At all levels, there is a need to develop two quality players in a team as specialist wicketkeepers. Also, it is important that the criteria to judge them should not be their batting. We have to develop wicketkeepers who can bat and not the other way around."
With youngsters like Kruthik Krishna, Aashish Mahesh and Suraj Ahuja being groomed, one can only hope that they deliver on the initial promise shown.
