India's wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha had a turbulent time on both professional and personal front. He first was ignored for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka and then was pestered by a so-called journalist which remained the talk of the town for quite a few days. Wriddhiman has got the inkling that the team management has decided to look beyond him and his future in Indian team is not something to be look upon.
Amid the glovesman's dismal times, India's another wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik sympathised with him as he understood that it would have been a tough pill to swallow for Wriddhiman but the emergence of Rishabh Pant cannot be ignored either.
Karthik showered praise on Wriddhiman’s wicket-keeping skills but said, “But you can see Rishabh Pant has pretty much nailed his place in the team. So then, you can understand which direction the Indian team is going in where they feel that if it’s going to be a second keeper role, then they’ll look at somebody younger.”
“I know no cricketer is going to accept that when you’re being told to move on. It is a very hard one because this is what they’ve been doing day in and day out. All of us want to represent the country and that is the burning desire for everybody. So when somebody comes in says, ‘I think your time is done’, it can be a hard one to swallow. But it is understandable and you have to understand where the selectors, the coach and the captain are coming from,” Karthik said.
Saha has been overlooked for India’s upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka at home and KS Bharat has got the call as the second keeper in the squad besides Pant.
He was all praise for Saha’s contributions to Indian cricket. “Kudos to Wriddhiman Saha. I think he has been one of those brilliant, quiet servants of Indian cricket who has done so well over a period of years. He is still one of the best wicketkeepers in the world, by a distance ? I rate him as the best wicketkeeper in the world. He has got great hands, he moves really well... He is a terrific wicketkeeper. And add to the fact, he has a few centuries in international cricket and played some really crucial, important knocks when Team India needed it,” Karthik added.
But following the emergence of Pant, Karthik said it was understandable why the team management took the decision to move on from Saha. “Just like MS Dhoni came in all those years ago, we’ve had a Rishabh Pant who's come in over the last couple of years and has done really well,” he said.
“When that happens, Saha has obviously become the second wicketkeeper and he has been travelling with the team and playing the odd match here and there.”
Wridhhiman has played 40 Tests for the country since 2010 in which he has effected 104 dismissals (92 catches and 12 stumpings).
India's Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, R Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), R Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, J Bumrah (vc), Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar
Sri Lanka's Test Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva (vc), Kusal Mendis (subject to fitness), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrema, Lasith Embuldeniya.
