At 20, Arundhati Kirkire is still one of the more inexperienced members of the Indian team. Selected to be part of a shortlist of 20 ahead of Reshma Gandhi, she still has to go a long way before she can step into the shoes of first choice stumper and captain Anju Jain. To her credit, Arundhati is very fit and works hard on staying that way. Before she takes the field, either to keep wickets or to bat, Arundhati can been seen with a skipping rope warming up rather vigourously. Although she has the ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over with quick ones and twos, she has a tendency to play away from her body on the offside and this could prove to be her undoing in conditions where the ball is swinging or seaming considerably. She prefers the onside and uses this to good effect against the spinners.
(Anand Vasu)