Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that if BCCI would’ve picked Wriddhiman Saha in the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final had the BCCI named him in the Men in Blue squad for the summit clash.
India will clash with Australia in the final of the World Test Championship at the Oval from June 7-11. There have been a number of changes in the squad for the title clash owing to injury issues, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul being forced to miss the game.
Among wicketkeepers, KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have traveled with the side and there have been debates over who of the two should be taking the field in the final.
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, however, had little doubts when he was asked the same.
If It Were Wriddhiman Saha, Then I Would Say Yes: Harbhajan Singh
Since being benched for the home series against Sri Lanka in February of last year, Saha has fallen out of favor with the Indian Test team. Even before Saha lost his spot in the team, Rishabh Pant was the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter and then the experienced India player was replaced by KS Bharat as the backup option.
However, Saha had an excellent IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans, scoring 371 runs in the season in 17 matches, and kept brilliantly well.
While Harbhajan sided with Bharat, he added that his answer wouldn’t have been the same if the BCCI had picked Wriddhiman Saha in the Test squad.
“No, I don’t think so. KS Bharat has been playing for India now. If it were Wriddhiman Saha, then I would say yes, play him. He has more experience and he’s a better keeper. If KL Rahul was fit, I would’ve played him over KS Bharat as well,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
India will be chasing their first ICC title in 10 years at the World Test Championship final.