In recent times, the BCCI selectors have preferred selecting Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel as backup wicket-keepers in the absence of MS Dhoni and Wriddhiman Saha. Till now there hasn’t been a permanent solution to the problem. This has left cricket expert Sanjay Majrekar worried.

During the recently concluded South Africa series, Parthiv was included in the squad as a back-up of Saha, who got injured in the Test series. And now, Karthik has been named in the squad for Nidahas Trophy. Also in the ranks is young and talented Rishabh Pant, and Majrekar reckons that Pant should be given an opportunity to play in every match possible in the series.

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In his column for Times of India, Manjrekar wrote, “That we keep going back to Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel every time we have to look beyond Saha and Dhoni is not a good sign. There seems to be a dearth of exciting quality ‘keeper-batsmen in Indian cricket today. Best they give Rishabh Pant the whole of the Nidahas tournament to show that he can be that ‘hard to find’ talent.”

The former India batsman was critical of middle-order batsman Manish Pandey, who still hasn’t been able to cement his place in the limited-overs squads. Talking about the same, Sanjay wrote, “Manish Pandey clearly has the talent but I don’t quite like his inconsistency. After that brilliant 79 not out recently in the second T20 in South Africa, he failed in the very next game, which is understandable but he had done the same earlier in his career too.”

Sanjay Manjrekar comments on India’s middle-order

He further added, “A spate of failures after his first century in one-day Internationals in Australia in January 2016. He cannot seem to be able to carry his form through. Having KL Rahul in the squad can ensure that Pandey remains on his toes all the time.”

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Manjrekar also reckons that Nidahas Trophy will be an apt opportunity for the Indians to test their bench strength. He wrote, “Indian cricket is currently on an upswing and good teams use such times to plug holes that are not sinking the ship now but are there nevertheless. India looks well placed on the bowling front in white-ball cricket, both in the seam and spin department.”

Sanjay concluded by talking about India’s middle-order further, he said, “It’s the middle-order batting and finding the next generation ‘keeper-batsman after Dhoni, the areas that need to be addressed. [Suresh] Raina has made a promising comeback but to be sure that he is our safe option in the middle, he must continue his form. On comebacks, expectations are greater, because there are skeptics too who you need to win over.”