India’s first choice Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is doubtful for the England Tests. Saha had suffered an injury to his thumb in the Indian Premier League. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman hasn’t recovered yet.
Meanwhile, it was expected that Saha would be fit for the England tour despite his recovery not going as per the plan. Thus, it has put a question mark over his participation in the five-match Test series.
Hence, if in case Saha fails to recover in time, Dinesh Karthik will remain with the Indian team as his replacement.
Saha is yet to recuperate from his thumb injury.
“Saha’s injury hasn’t healed as per plan and to be fair there isn’t a chance that he would be match-fit when the team takes the field in the first game. Even though he was working on his fitness all this while, he could not keep wickets or bat with the soft plaster on. Game time is also something that the current management is looking into and it has been a while since Saha last played any form of cricket,” a source said while talking to CricketNext.
In fact, some of India’s Test specialists will partake for the India A side in their match against England Lions. Furthermore, Saha is unlikely to recuperate before the warm-up game against Essex.
Consequently, it would not be fair to give a chance to Saha straight away without any match practice.
“Some of the Test specialists are already in England and will be a part of the unofficial Test against the England Lions and Saha now doesn’t look like he will make it even for the Essex game. In such a circumstance it is only fair that someone like Karthik gets his chance as the player has been with the team and is aware of the conditions on offer. Also, he was the one called in to replace Saha for the Afghanistan Test,” he said.
Given the unavailability of Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik could get his much-deserved chance. Karthik is in fine form with the bat, and it would be ideal to give him his opportunity. Furthermore, Parthiv Patel can also be in the reckoning as a backup keeper.
Meanwhile, India will begin its five-match Test series on August 1. Currently, the ODI series is tied at 1-1 and decider would be played on Tuesday.