Is Uthappa being groomed as Dhoni's successor?
The squad chosen by the selectors for Zimbabwe has thrown up quite a few surprises. While the one decision that has got the most attention is the appointment of Ajinkya Rahane as captain, there is another one that has not garnered as much attention but is equally surprising.
There is no dedicated wicketkeeper in the squad for the three ODIs and the two T20s. Robin Uthappa, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu have been chosen as the temporary 'keepers. Rayudu does not have much wicketkeeping experience, as he has only done so in the IPL. Uthappa and Jadhav have experience in IPL as well as domestic cricket.
What is even more surprising is that both Rayudu and Jadhav have not been practicing 'keeping. Jadhav said, "At the moment I have only been preparing as a batsman. I haven't been sounded off about keeping so I have been preparing as a batsman only. Keeping in a 50-over game is a very difficult ask for a non-keeper, so I am only looking forward to enjoying my batting and fielding", ESPNcricinfo reported.
Uthappa, though, has been rigorously practicing his ‘keeping over the last two weeks. His personal batting coach Pravin Amre has been training him in Mumbai, and he also had a practice session with Vinayak Samant, the former Mumbai wicketkeeper. Kiran More had been Uthappa’s first choice, but with More being out of the country, Samant turned out to be a good Plan B. Samant has a decade-long experience.
What does this disparity between practices among the three wicketkeepers mean? Had Uthappa been told in advance of his upcoming role? "I am not waiting for anyone to indicate it to me. I am just taking it up, putting my hand up and saying I am doing it," he said, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Uthappa indicated that he considers keeping as an integral part irrespective of whether he will keep for his team or not. "Keeping gives me the information that I am seeking when I go out to bat. All the information that I would probably take five or seven overs to get, I probably get in two overs because I have already got so much information," Uthappa said. "You just need a little bit of understanding, sometimes just a little bit of confirmation when you are batting out there, if what you have read while keeping is the right thing. It takes one or two overs, so you save that much more time. It's a massive advantage."
Who will become MS Dhoni’s successor after next year’s World T20? Dhoni has indicated that he will announce his decision about his future in limited overs cricket then. Along with Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Sanju Samson and Parthiv Patel, Uthappa now looks like a strong contender.
"I see myself more as a successor than as an alternative, but I think MS will play for a very long time. I think people are predicting something that isn't true," Uthappa said. "He is extremely motivated, takes a lot of pride in playing for our country and am certain he will play for a long time. But yeah, definitely I see myself as a successor to him."