Sportskeeda's Top 50 Indian Test cricketers of all-time (50-41)

#44 Nayan Mongia

Nayan Mongia kept wickets dexterously on rapidly deteriorating tracks

If conflating the adrenaline rush induced by fast bowlers is a demanding assignment for a wicket-keeper, then anticipating the vagaries of viciously turning fourth/fifth day tracks and assisting rampant spinners in the subcontinent becomes an even tougher task. As evidenced by his efficiency in standing up to the masterful Anil Kumble on rapidly crumbling surfaces in the 90s, Nayan Mongia was a technically accomplished gloveman.

Not unlike most wicket-keepers of his generation, Mongia looked more at ease behind the stumps rather than in front of them. Nevertheless, he still found ways to chip in with handy batting contributions whenever his team desperately needed runs down the order. When he was asked by the team management to convert himself into a makeshift opener for the 1996 Delhi Test against Australia, he welcomed the decision with a match-winning 152.

Career Span: 1994-2001

Statistics: 99 catches and 8 stumpings; 1442 runs from 44 matches at an average of 24.03 with 1 century and 6 fifties