Will keep wicket to play for India if required: Robin Uthappa

In an interview to Sportscreen, Robin Uthappa has claimed that he is ready to don the wicket keeping gloves once again if that is what is required for him to seal a spot in the Indian team.

Uthappa has had quite a lot of experience of keeping wicket. We have seen him keep wicket for India in a few One Day Internationals against the likes of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He has stood behind the stumps on countless occasions for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and later, for the Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR have relied on his glovework quite a lot, as they went against picking a regular keeper from 2014 to 2017. Uthappa also has experience of keeping wicket in domestic Cricket for his home state Karnataka, both in the Ranji Trophy and white ball matches. Although his performance as a wicket keeper has been questionable at times, he has been successful in effecting quite a lot of dismissals.

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Upon being asked whether he would take the wicketkeeping route as an option to play for India, he said, “Yeah for sure. There are exceptional guys who are donning the gloves at the moment. KL (Rahul) is doing a fantastic job. He seems to look like he’s become more natural with his wicketkeeping skills. He’s clearly doing some work behind the stumps which is why he seems so much better today with the gloves. DK (Dinesh Karthik) is someone who has done well for India in the T20 format.”

Uthappa also said that he is open to play in any role for India. He also pointed out that he never batted more than three innings a certain position for the men in blue, and affirmed that he is happy to take up any role according to the team’s needs.

The 34 year old Uthappa, who debuted for India in 2006 with a swashbuckling 86 against England in the 7th ODI in Indore, said, “So yeah, there is a chance. Every time I played for the Indian team in whatever shape or form they need me. I have never batted at one position for more than three innings when I played for India. For me, when I am representing my country, I am all in. As a person, I am an all in or nothing kind of a person. Whatever the team needs me to do, I am happy and willing to do it.”