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While Saurabh Tiwary and Kieron Pollard walked away with all the plaudits following Mumbai Indians' stunning win in the semi-final against Bangalore Royal Challengers, Ambati Rayudu's wicket-keeping, which included the acrobatic stumping of Kevin Pietersen, received just a notable mention. But in a format where the focus remains firmly on big-hitters, the wicket-keeper's role is often ignored.
Though the shortest format of the game might logically seem the perfect platform to put an end to the debate over whether a specialist wicket-keeper still has a role in limited-over cricket, the third edition of the IPL ensured that the issue is kept alive.
And while most of the teams did rely on specialist glovesmen during the third edition of the IPL MS Dhoni (Chennai) and Adam Gilchrist (Deccan) in fact were in-charge of their respective franchises part-timers Rayudu and Robin Uthappa did a good job behind the wickets for Mumbai and Bangalore, respectively.
Former India stumper Chandrakant Pandit, though, insists that compared to other formats a specialist wicket-keeper was more of a necessity in T20 cricket, where misses behind the wicket could often alter the entire equation of a game. "Dropped catches end up hurting a team much more in T20 cricket. Especially if it is someone like a Tendulkar or a Hayden, three more overs of them at the crease can change the complexion of the game," says Pandit.
Left-arm spinner and T20 veteran Murali Kartik, however, believes that whether it is a batsman who can keep wickets or a wicket-keeper who can bat decently, he should have the ability to balance his two roles well. "Not many balls actually end up going past the batsmen in this format, but those that do could end up being match-turning," says Kartik.
Team composition
With the top-six batsmen in the line-up expected to bat a bulk of the 20 overs, many experts have argued about there still being a case of playing a specialist in place of an irregular 'keeper. But the final call depends entirely on the composition of the team, according to Kartik. "Teams have to be flexible in this format. At Middlesex, we had someone like Ben Scott, who wasn't a great batsman but was extraordinary behind the stumps. But not all teams have that kind of an advantage," he adds.
With batsmen always under pressure to step out even against the pacers, standing up to the stumps has turned into a cerebral aspect of wicket-keeping in T20 cricket. Pandit again insists that a specialist is better equipped in mastering the art.
"Standing up to the stumps is an added skill which only a specialist can acquire. It puts pressure on the batsman and also gives a lot of confidence to a bowler to stick to a specific line and length," he says. Kartik adds that being a safe bet with the gloves was only the primary role of a wicket-keeper and his understanding with the bowlers was also a crucial aspect. "Even millimetres and centimetres can make a difference in T20. A wicket-keeper needs to be abreast with what I am bowling and what kind of fielding positions I employ for different batsmen," says the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner.
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