India Vs South Africa 2019/20 (Test Series): Virat Kohli Clears The Doubt Over Wicketkeeping Contest Between Rishabh Pant And Wriddhiman Saha
Oct 1, 2019 at 12:10 PM
Just one day ahead of the opening Test of three-match home Test series against the visitors South Africa, Indian captain Virat Kohli has cleared the doubt over the wicketkeeping contest between Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha.
The 34-year-old Wriddhiman Saha was a regular Test wicketkeeper till January 2018. He was a consistent performer both as a wicketkeeper and as a middle-order batsman. But due to some injuries, Saha missed out the international cricket for a long time. He finally returned to the Test side in the last Test series against the host side Windies. But Saha missed out both those Tests in that series as the team management didn’t select him in the playing XIs.
Meanwhile, since Saha missed out the Test cricket due to the injuries, Rishabh Pant gradually became the regular wicketkeeper in the Test side. Pant made his Test debut in August 2018 during the Nottingham Test against the hosts England. Due to showing impressive performances in the early period, Pant got more chances in Test cricket.
But in recent times, Pant has hugely struggled to perform with the bat. Though he got some good starts, he mostly failed to convert those into the big scores due to poor shot selections. In the last Test series against Windies, Pant scored 24, 7 and 22 runs respectively.
Wriddhiman Saha will keep for us in this Test series – Virat Kohli
On Wednesday (2nd October), India and South Africa will begin the three-match Test series. Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium (Vishakhapatnam) is ready to host the first Test of this series. Ahead of this Test match, Virat Kohli has clarified that Wriddhiman Saha will play the wicketkeeping role for India in this Test series.
Kohli said, “Wriddhiman Saha will keep for us in this Test series”
After making Test debut in February 2010, Wriddhiman Saha has played 32 Tests where he has scored 1,164 runs with an average of 30.63.
This three-match Test series is the part of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (2019-21). While it is India’s second Test series and first home Test series in this Championship, South Africa will play their first Test series at the same time.