Dravid Is Goliath

Updated on: 7 February 2024 7:05 pm

Dravid Is Goliath

ODIs
Keeper	Matches	Catches/St.		Runs	Avg.	100s/50s	Dismissals/match
Adam Gilchrist	187	274/39		6346	36.26	10/37	1.67
Ajay Ratra	12	11/5		90	12.85	0/0	1.33
Vijay Dahiya	19	19/5		216	16.61	0/1	1.26
MSK Prasad	17	14/7		131	14.55	0/1	1.24
Rahul Dravid (WK)	58	54/10		1830	45.75	3/11	1.10
Nayan Mongia	140	110/44		1272	20.19	0/2	1.10
Parthiv Patel	12	10/3		113	14.12	0/0	1.08
Sameer Dighe	23	19/5		256	23.27	0/1	1.04
Saba Karim	34	27/3		362	15.73	0/1	0.88
Deep Dasgupta	5	2/1		51	17.00	0/0	0.60

Maybe there is a sound reason for that insistence in playing Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper after all. It's easy to attack his glove-work. But in nearly 60 ODIs he's averaged a better rate of dismissals per game than supposedly superior keepers do. And consider his batting average: A massive 30 runs beyond most Indian rivals. There is a strong case for arguing that the gains from his batting far outweigh any deficiencies in keeping, especially given the poor quality of his domestic competition. For confirmation, just look at how they stack up against the current state-of-the-art in international keeping, a certain Adam Gilchrist. At least Dravid is not utterly humbled by the comparison.


Keeper	Matches	Catches	St.	Runs	HS	Bating Average	Dismissals/match
Vijay Dahiya	2	6	0	2	2*	2.00	3.00
M.S.K. Prasad	6	15	0	106	19	11.77	2.50
Nayan Mongia	44	99	8	1442	152	24.03	2.43
Sameer Dighe	6	12	2	141	47	15.66	2.33
Ajay Ratra	6	11	2	163	115*	18.11	2.17
Parthiv Patel	13	22	6	382	62	27.28	2.15
Deep Dasgupta	8	13	0	344	100	28.66	1.63
Saba Karim	1	0	1	15	15	15.00	1.00

No one barring Mongia has consistently kept to Test standards. And though Syed Kirmani and Kiran More, with 198 and 130 dismissals respectively (and better batting records than the contenders above) are both selectors, their expertise hasn't helped anyone grow into a good keeper. Nor is it unearthing any new talent. * Not out