Kolkata, May 29: Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly today said the team management and selectors were looking for a full time wicketkeeper to take the pressure off Rahul Dravid, but the possible replacement must prove his potential and match the vice-captain's performance behind the stumps. "Dravid was always a part time option..... Selectors are giving opportunity to others, but the wicketkeeper must stand up and perform as Dravid has done," Ganguly told newspersons here. The selectors are trying to find out a suitable replacement for Dravid, but "there is no hurry" as the next season begins only in October," he said. On talented teenager Parthiv Patel, the skipper said, "The selectors have given him a chance to prove his worth in the coming England Tour by India 'A'."


But, Patel "has to prove his batting potential" to earn a place in the senior national side, he said.

Patel was included in the 16-member India-A squad last week by the national selectors for the England Tour beginning on June 22.

Asked to comment on veteran speedstar Javagal Srinath's retirement plan, Ganguly said he was yet to get any official intimation from the Karnataka speedstar.
"It will not be fair for me to make any remark without knowing the exact position, but as a fellow cricketer, who played along with me for 7-8 years, I can say that he still has a lot of cricket left in him," he said.

Bureau Report