Deep Dasgupta's role a subject of debate

Should India continue to open the innings with Deep Dasgupta to allow one more batsman in the lower middle-order, or should they play Ajay Ratra as the wicket-keeper and provide Wasim Jaffer or Dinesh Mongia a chance to partner Shiv Sunder Das in Tests? That is a big question now after Dasgupta failed once again as an opener at Guyana.

Incidentally, in the seven Tests that Dasgupta has opened for India, never has India batted first. So on each occasion, he had to come to the wicket to bat after four or more sessions of wicket-keeping. When the opposition, furthermore, pile on more than 500 runs batting first, the strain of batting within just 10 minutes of leaving the field must be enormous for the young wicket-keeper.

But Dasgupta, with an eye on cementing his place in the team, wants to carry on at the top of the order. He is intelligent enough to accept that his keeping alone cannnot earn him a place in the first eleven, so he is not ready to give up the challenging role. The team management is also backing him to succeed.

He has scores of 13 and 63, 100 and 0*, 17 and 60, 0, 33, 19 and one, and 0 in his seven Tests as opener, aggregating 306 runs at an average of 30.60. That is not a bad record, but being the wicket-keeper seems to have affected his batting, especially in the last four Tests. That is why Geoffery Boycott says, "You should not allow the wicket-keepers to open the innings in Tests. It is inhuman sometimes, especially after two days of keeping wicket. They need rest, the muscles are pulled, movement of the feet is uncertain and reluctant. I will never advocate a wicket-keeper-opener in Tests."

Meanwhile his wicket-keeping continues to draw a lot of flak, with Ravi Shastri unhesitatingly blaming Dasgupta for letting Carl Hooper plunder a double-hundred. When asked about it, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was more than surprised. "You mean the nick he had at the beginning of Hooper's innings? I don't think even the best wicket-keeper in the world would have been able to catch that," Ganguly observed.

We saw how Kiran More dropped that infamous catch at Lord's to allow Graham Gooch to score the famous 333 a decade ago. The chance offered by Hooper was not anywhere as easy, but Shastri believes it had to be taken. When Michael Holding enquired whether there were no other wicket-keepers in India except Dasgupta, Shastri said, "At least five are there, but they are overlooked."

Sunil Gavaskar, for his part, said "I am not very much satisfied with Ratra too. I like Dasgupta's attitude. He knows his limitations. Moreover, when he bats, he does not think of his `keeping and vice-versa. India could have played five specialist bowlers, and that opportunity was provided by Dasgupta."

But the team played an extra batsman, as the captain is aware that the batsmen have usually failed to live up to their potential on foreign soil. Dasgupta thus provided him the opportunity to play the extra bat. To blame Ganguly solely for adopting this strategy would not be fair, since India have, in the recent past, tried out as many as three wicket-keepers in the thankless job of opening in Test cricket -­ Nayan Mongia, MSK Prasad and Sameer Dighe - with the same intentions. Except for Mongia, who opened in 26 innings for 688 runs with an average of 26.46, the others did not succeed.

At the moment, Dasgupta has a better average than any of them, but his second duck in 11 innings as an opener, has suddenly put a question-mark over his career.