CHENNAI: South Zone and Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper batter N Jagadeesan hopes to impress selectors in the Duleep Trophy final beginning here on Sunday.
He earned his maiden India call-up in for the fifth Test against England at The Oval last year as a backup for injured Rishabh Pant. Although he did not get an opportunity to play, Jagadeesan will know what it means to be part of the Indian team dressing room.
Former Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper and TN senior men's selection committee member TR Arasu believes that Jagadeesan will get his chance to play for India sooner or later and said that the Duleep Trophy final will be crucial for him.
"A good performance in the Duleep trophy final always stands out. You get to play against the best players available at the time in the country. It gives the selectors an idea about the skill sets and endurance as it is a five-day game. I firmly believe that with the talent that he has, Jagadeesan will come out with flying colours," Arasu told this daily.
With the glove, Arasu feelt that Jagadeesan has improved in terms of anticipating the movement of the ball and gathering it. "Jags kept well in the semifinals in Bengaluru. I honestly felt that his subtleness has improved. His hands are pretty softer than what I saw earlier. Now, looking at the TNCA league games, he has done well. And I think I could see a strong difference in what I saw a couple of years ago and now," he said.
He then further explained the areas in which Jagadeesan improved with regards to keeping the wicket.
"His reaction towards the ball is even more clear than what I saw previously. That's something which is very important. And the bigger picture for a wicketkeeper is the judgment. He's got more clarity in that aspect than earlier, which is very visible," he said.
Arasu observed how Jagadeesan has changed his positioning, with an instance of him moving forward by little in the Duleep Trophy matches in Bengaluru.
"Now he's able to come into the ball much earlier than what he did. In Indian pitches, the ball dives around when it comes. What he does is, without giving up on that dive, he pushes and comes forward well. So he's willing to take the challenge, even if the ball is quick. He's got good reflexes to take those good catches on the first slip, or towards the next slip. The intent is great now," he added.
With experience in keeping to spinners like R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Ajith Ram and M Siddarth, Jagadeesan can counter the spin challenge well.
"All these five spinners are all different from each other. If you take Siddharth, he's very quick through the air. If you take Ajith Ram, the revolutions are pretty fast than the rest of the bowlers. Sai Kishore is a bowler who believes in loop, you know, he flights the ball. And with Ashwin he's got a lot of variations. He has the unique ability to adapt to each of these bowlers as he understands their game will," Arasu said.
"With batting too he has improved a lot and I am sure he will do well in the final." he added.