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We’ve ample talent in present team:
Kirmani | |
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It’s a brand new assignment for you. How are you going to approach the job of the head of the selection panel? n I will do my best. I have been engaged with Indian cricket for a number of years now and this comes as a chance to contribute to the Indian team. The selectors’ chair is a hot seat. I think the most important thing for us to work with proper communication and understanding among one another. All of us have the same objective – to see India do well.There are a couple of areas, especially in the Test line-up, that have openings. What are your ideas on these? n The team has been selected and you can see our ideas. We have selected the best combination from among the resources available to us. I am against the concept of a makeshift opener. Such an arrangement can be made in a particular situation, but not as a long-term plan. It doesn’t bring stability to the team. The same goes for all the slots.One thing you have been very vocal about is the need for a specialist wicket-keeper even in the One-Day scenario. You don’t believe that Rahul Dravid is the right option? Dravid has done exceptionally well and made some fine contributions as a wicket-keeper, but there are certain things only a specialist can do. A good wicket-keeper is one with a lot of natural ability. A wicket-keeper is a very important player in the team. In my opinion, the most important man when the team is fielding, because he is in the best position to study the batsman and point out flaws to the bowlers. A wicket-keeper is not just a person who catches balls that comes his way. There’s a lot more to it and that’s a specialist’s job. We have had a few youngsters being tried out. What are your ideas on them – people like Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra, Deep Dasgupta, Thilak Naidu, etc? n They are all young. They are all good wicket-keepers. And they are all competent batsmen as they have proven over the years. In the modern game, a wicket-keeper needs to be able to bat. Even in our time, a wicket-keeper needed to bat. A wicket-keeper doesn’t necessarily have to score centuries. But he should have the temperament to stay at the wicket.What are your ideas about the team for the Australian series? That’s the more important series. n All international matches are important. We will sit down and look at each and every performance before picking our side. The team for Australia will depend, to a large extent, on the matches in India. We are looking at long-term plans, but at the same time, we need to go step-by-step. Let’s first finish the New Zealand series.What is your opinion about the present Indian team? n After the World Cup, the team had a long lay-off. But their Bangalore camp to take on the Kiwis was excellent. I think we have ample talent in the present team and they are a bunch of competitors eager to prove themselves. |
FORMER
Indian wicket-keeping great Syed Kirmani recently replaced Brijesh
Patel as the chairman of the BCCI Selection Committee. The rest of
the line-up remains the same with Kirti Azad, Kiran More, Sanjay
Jagdale and Pranab Roy. In an interview with The Day After, ‘Kiri’—
as he is popularly known, talks about the matters uppermost in his
mind and discusses his logic behind calling for a specialist
wicket-keeper for the 