When Deep Dasgupta pays a visit to Sourav Ganguly's house in Kolkata, Ganguly is unlikely to trust him with his new-born baby girl. Dasgupta has struggled to hold on to anything behind the stumps, and looks like he can't even catch a cold. As a batsman, he has been all rock-solid composure. But as a wicketkeeper, he has been less reliable and more voluble. Whenever the ball has come off the bat, "Deep Throat" has been about as close to the ball as Andy Caddick is to Afghanistan.

The national selectors need to give Dasgupta confidence, but not an extended run unless his wicketkeeping shows swift improvement. On tracks that turn square and bounce, even the finest keepers are challenged, but Dasgupta seemed technically ill-equipped even against some less-than-testing deliveries at Mohali. He dropped Nasser Hussain and Craig White in the first innings, and in the second his poor positioning saw him stretching in vain and failing to reach the wicket when presented with a stumping opportunity.

Dasgupta's runs are most welcome for an Indian side struggling to find a genuine allrounder, but his primary job is to keep wicket. The century he scored at Mohali has extended his Test career, but survival at the top will depend on how quickly he can improve his glovework.

His biggest challenges will come at Ahmedabad and Bangalore, where the pitches will be more spin-friendly. The helplessness and frustration on Anil Kumble's face when Dasgupta bungled in the first Test could be summed up in two words: no confidence. That hundred will recede into the memory if Dasgupta's nightmares behind the wicket continue - and the axe could come sooner than most might imagine.

The English selectors once dropped Geoff Miller after he scored 98 and Geoff Boycott after he had amassed an unbeaten 246 - Miller because he failed in his primary role as an offspinner, and Boycott because his ultra-defensive methods were deemed counter-productive to the team interests. Mind you, England wouldn't mind a batsman now who could bat for two days against India.

Dasgupta needs to look to Rod Marsh for inspiration. Marsh became one of the game's greatest keepers despite a horrendous beginning to his international career – a phase in which he was labelled "Iron Gloves". This is the same Marsh who was impressed with Dasgupta's keeping before he made his international debut. Either Rod was watching the wrong man or Dasgupta has degenerated alarmingly since that assessment. DD's comedy show is becoming a bad joke. The Indian glove story needs a desperate change of script.

H Natarajan is senior editor with Wisden.com in India.

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