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The Rediff Cricket Interview/ Syed Kirmani

'Dravid looks more sound than the 'keepers we have at the moment'

It was just past noon, and Karnataka was batting against Bombay in the Ranji Trophy Super Six series.

Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani, chairman of the Karnataka selection committee, watched in growing despair as his side stumbled to an innings defeat.

As player after player walked back to the changing rooms of the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, 'Kiri' began to sound more and more distressed. "This is what happens when you give experienced and performing players rest, and get an experienced but non-performing player to lead the side," he said bitterly. "The batsmen simply gave their wickets away. They don't realise that some of them have also just given away any hope they might have entertained of getting into the Indian eleven by turning out a good performance here."

India's legendary wicket-keeper, reputed to have a heart as big as all outdoors, known as the quintessential team man, now works as public relations manager of the State Bank of India. And as with everything he does, Kiri throws himself heart and soul into his job. But that doesn't seem to hinder his energy and enthusiasm for cricket -- apart from his job as head of the state selection committee, he also tours with the Indian team often, in his role of commentator on television and radio stations.

Even as the Karnataka innings stumbled into disaster, Kirmani spoke to M D Riti about assorted cricketing issues.

The general opinion on the cricket circuit is that though we now have several wicket-keepers on the Indian side, none of them is outstanding or really effective.

Yes, that's true, and the reason for that is the lack of grooming by the Board. They are emphasising more on batsmen who can keep wickets. That is very unfortunate. It should be the other way around: the person should be more a wicket-keeper than a batsman, to be good at his job. The wicket-keeper is a very important member of a cricket team, and obviously, the right choice would be a natural keeper. Whatever he does by way of batting should just be considered a bonus. That's how one should look at it.

They are not identifying the right wicket-keeping talent. There is talent in abundance in our country, but the right man is not being identified for the job. That's why you don't see good quality wicket-keepers in our country. And I suppose this is actually a universal problem. There are wicket-keepers outside, like Adam Gilchrist from Australia, who is improving match by match. Obviously, experience is bringing out the best in him. The South African wicket-keeper, Mark Boucher, is also growing. They are all in the making as class wicket-keepers and batsmen.

This is where we are falling apart. We have not introduced that professional attitude or approach towards the whole situation. I do not refer only to wicket keeping, but to all aspects of the game. The players are having a very easy walk to achieving the Indian colours.

There was a large stretch of time when you were India's only capable wicket keeper. Why was this so?

In my era, there was a lot of emphasis on grooming. They saw the talent in me, and my performances, and my temperament, all for a long time, not just for one season. They saw me for two years on the domestic circuit, my temperament, my physical fitness, my consistency and my overall performance.

Right from 1971 to 1975, I was the second wicket-keeper to Faroukh Engineer. There were quite a few wicket keepers alongside with me in between, who were waiting to play for the country. During this grooming period, I was gaining a lot of experience and confidence, playing side games. That is true grooming. By the time it so happened that Engineer could not play for the country due to circumstances, as he had his testimonial for Lancashire in England, I was confident of being able to take his place. The selectors too had faith in me, as they had seen me in the side games.

I was experienced enough by then to withstand pressure in international games. I stood my ground, and in my very second Test in New Zealand in 1976, I happened to equal the world record, and became established on the circuit. My confidence too grew in abundance. All this is not so now. So how can you find quality or an able wicket-keeper? There were times, when I was playing for India, when I was the only wicket-keeper. I had identified some good guys, and said these are the people who should be groomed while I was still there. I was sure they could do an even better job than me eventually. But the right guys were not picked.

Is it because wicket-keeping is hard work, without any of the glamour of cricket that batting or bowling enjoy, that we have such few players working hard to become wicket-keepers? Are players not coming forward to specialise in this area, or are those who do try not being encouraged?

Its not at all to do with the issue of glamour. Its just that nobody wants to work hard. Moreover, the authorities are not letting them work hard on the domestic circuit. They are not grooming them or insisting on their developing consistency.

Wicket-keeping is admittedly the most thankless job. And it is the easiest place on the team to walk into. Every player is trying to pick up the gloves, and say ki, bhai, this is where I find my place on the Indian eleven. If you ask me, Rahul Dravid actually looks more technically sound than the people who are there at the moment.

You have to identify the right man, groom him, and then give him a fair chance. He must be told, look man, you are being tried over this many games. For instance, if you have selected a wicket-keeper, say Samir Dighe himself, and you are playing five one day internationals, or even four, you should tell him he is the confirmed wicket-keeper for all those games. If you don't tell the man this clearly, he is not sure of his place on the team from one game to the next. He will keep worrying that if he does not perform in even one game, he will not be considered for the rest. He ends up not playing to his natural ability or capability. He is over-cautious.

The selectors should tell any player picked that he is playing in so many matches. And if he fails, the next man should be given a chance. If it is for a Test match, he must be told ki bhai, you are playing a total of two matches, which is four innings. This is a good, fair chance, because there is so much competition in our country. If anyone fails, the next man should be able to walk in.

But there should be a proper system of selections, of understanding between the team management, the selection committee. I find there is a total communication gap here, due to which so many controversies arise. Players are unsure of their standing. Things are said and denied. We don't know who is speaking the truth.

As far as I am concerned, I am on tape with you and on record, so I cannot deny anything I have said! I believe in being transparent in what I say. I know the truth always hurts, but you cannot make it go away.

'You can just walk into the Indian eleven with one good performance, or two': The Kiri interview continues...

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