The captain of a cricket team, I feel, should be on the field with the players and not behind the wicket. He should have free access to the players all the time and not be isolated behind the wicket.

This naturally does not happen when the captain has to keep wickets. We often see captains of other teams going up to the players to congratulate them when a catch is taken, a good piece of fielding is performed or a wicket is taken. We also see captains conferring with the bowlers and other senior players when in difficulty. All this is absolutely necessary to achieve success.

We hardly see this in our team as the captain is tied down behind the wicket. The most I have seen is the captain running up and embracing the bowler at the fall of a wicket or clapping from behind the wicket.

The wicket keeper has to concentrate 100 percent, if he is to perform well. The slightest distraction can result in the missing of a stumping opportunity or taking a catch behind the wicket.

When the captain is the wicket keeper, his attention is divided between keeping wickets and keeping an eye on the players. Of course, the game will proceed smoothly as long as the bowlers deliver the goods and the fielders perform well. The moment bowlers become wavered and fielding becomes slip shod, the captain naturally becomes worried and loses concentration. This, we saw in ample measure during the Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand match in the ICC tournament, where the wicket keeper missed an easy stumping opportunity and two catches behind the wicket. Had this stumping chance and catches been taken, our team could have won the match, in spite of the bad bowling and fielding lapses.

I don’t blame the captain for these lapses as he was a worried man seeing what was happening on the field. Had he been on the field with the players, he could have perhaps taken some remedial measures and rectified some of the errors. The only way to prevent such recurrences is to relieve the captain of wicket keeping chores and allow him to concentrate more on the rest of the players.

I remember the Cricket Board trying to train another wicket keeper sometime ago, but they seem to have given that up. We have to train another wicket keeper soon and relieve the captain of wicket keeping. If not, the talents of our players will be wasted and the team will go down in the ratings without proper directions during play.

Except on a few occasions, I have never seen a top cricket team been captained by a wicket keeper, in the recent past. With increasing competition and improved training facilities, most teams are in a high state of preparedness and even the smallest consideration will matter in the overall outcome.

I would therefore suggest to the Cricket Board that we should have a full time wicket keeper and free the captain to interact with the players and manage the team effectively.