With players like Dinesh Karthik and Vinay Uthappa doing well behind the stumps, Parthiv Patel needs to perform consistently to retain his place in the national team, says Selection Committee chairman Syed Kirmani.
"Parthiv Patel has shown his mettle, promise and talent in Pakistan and Australia -- both in one dayers and Tests. But I have to add there are other wicketkeepers who are competing very well with him, like under-19 stumper Karthik and Vinay Uthappa of Karnataka," Kirmani told reporters in Bangalore on Tuesday.
"There are also wicketkeepers from other zones who are also in the fray," he said adding "one has to be very, very consistent in his performance and should not take his place in the team for granted."
Talking about vice-captain Rahul Dravid doubling up as wicketkeeper in the one-dayers, Kirmani said: "I wouldn't like to see him as the wicketkeeper of the country. The committee is also feeling the same, I am sure.
"We didn't have that kind of a quality -- of a wicketkeeper and a batsman -- to be fitted in the middle order to give the balance to the team," he said.
The squad for the coming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, Kirmani said, would comprise players who performed well in Pakistan and also who have played well in the domestic circuit.
"We will definitely look at those who perform in the domestic circuit as well. If they could possibly fit into the squad, good luck to them," he said.
