Wicket-keeping is an art that is based on your innate talent of monitoring the field in its most perfect placements and also batting your heart out when your team needs you. Over the past decade, India boasted of one of its finest wicket-keepers of all time in the form of MS Dhoni, who was not only able to affect lightning-fast stumpings but his captaincy from behind the stumps left everyone impressed with what they witnessed firsthand.
He is also one of the hardest-hitting cricketers the game has ever seen, who comes with the finishing ability unparalleled in today’s world. However, he took over the mantle of wicket-keeping when India was wobbling with wicket-keepers who could have been tagged as nothing better than mediocre. Despite some phenomenal starts, they were shortly drifting away from their prime that bothered the Indian boards.
We will look at four Indian wicket-keepers who showed initial promise and were touted to be the next big thing behind the stumps but failed to live up to their billing, shortly bowing out of their prime.
Deep Dasgupta
What could have been a fabled rise to stardom, dissipated in flames for Bengal wicket-keeper, Deep Dasgupta. After being summoned to play in place of Sameer Dighe at Bloemfontein, Dasgupta was humiliated as he couldn’t score a single run.
Despite suffering a batting failure, his wicket-keeping skills drew considerable attention from the viewers. His second test witnessed the bravery of the finest order where his calm helped India to salvage a gritty draw against the mighty Proteas.
In his third test against England, he went on to display some fine batting as he racked up his maiden ton. However, that probably was the highest point that he would ever reach as he shortly fizzled away into oblivion.
Despite failing to make it big in international cricket, his phenomenal stints in domestic cricket still continued as he shortly took over the reins of Bengal from Saurav Ganguly.
His career came to an abrupt halt as he sided ways with the rebellious league called Indian Cricket League which was not approved by BCCI. However, despite his cricketing days being over, he has turned into one of the deftest commentators and analysts of the game.
Ajay Ratra
Ratra was a tragic story in Indian cricket that could never see the light of the day because of his stature and also due to consistent pressure from the selectors. For a newcomer to bloom, he will need to be given considerable time in order for him to showcase his character.
Most of the stars that we talk about today got a second shot at the game but Ratra failed to get one. In his limited Test cricket performances, Ratra scored a remarkable century and was also a dominant presence behind the timber.
However, his first-class career always bore the stamp of greatness as he was a force to be reckoned with for Goa.
Parthiv Patel
Despite housing the potential of being a rising star, injuries and inconsistencies plagued the career of this 17-year-old kid who had his footfall early in the game. Missing a finger in his arm, Patel had a decent start to his career after saving India from the blushes against a formidable England.
In spite of the fact that he exhibited spasmodic brilliance, Patel failed to showcase consecutive knocks that could have earned him more call ups to the national team. Also, to make matter worse, his wicket-keeping skills were repeatedly questioned as he kept on muffing chances at crucial junctures of the game.
However, Patel’s failure in the international circuit hasn’t really daunted him as his IPL performances have been notable all along and he makes a good wicket-keeper at a modest price.
Sameer Dighe
Another flop show in the Indian colors, Dighe showed initial signs of promise before being gobbled up by abysmal performances. With a 94 as his international best, Dighe didn’t get many opportunities that could have proved valuable for this wicket-keeper batsman to showcase his skillset.
However, his first-class career was always on a higher side as he managed to rack up 3983 runs at a healthy average of 35.98 which was laced with 278 dismissals. He lost his position to Deep Dasgupta in the first place and then was permanently removed as Parthiv Patel proved to be valuable in his early days.
