Three Possible Replacement of Wriddhiman Saha for the Afghanistan Test Series
May 29, 2018 at 11:29 AM
Wriddhiman Saha had made the wicket-keeping position his own in the Test cricket since MS Dhoni decided to hang his boots in the longer format of the game.
Since then, he has stamped his authority behind the wickets and has done a spectacular job. However, there has been speculations with his batting abilities but off-late he has contributed consistently with the bat.
Although he struggled to get runs in the recently concluded T20 extravaganza, he was the first choice for the spot in the upcoming Tests series against Afghanistan and England.
However, an untimely injury has ruled him out of the Afghanistan Tests starting from June 14. According to reports, he will atleast take five weeks to recover fully from his injury. As a result of the injury, he missed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s final game against Chennai Super Kings.
With Afghanistan Test round the corner, here are the three possible replacement of Saha:
Parthiv Patel:
The experienced campaigner from Gujarat is likely to be the front-runner to replace Saha if he fails to recover ahead of the Test match. Time and again, Parthiv Patel has replaced Saha whenever he failed to make the cut.
Moreover, the southpaw has tons of experience behind his back making his Test debut in 2002. However, he struggled to cement his place in the playing XI having played only 25 Tests.
Meanwhile, he last played against South Africa earlier this year, although failed to make any notable contribution. Patel will look to capitalise on it if an opportunity comes his way.
Dinesh Karthik
The 32-year-old Dinesh Karthik has been in good form having led his side Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs of this edition of the Indian Premier League.
The Tamil Nadu born cricketer showed responsibility in the middle-order and batted sensibly. However, he last played for India in a five-day game against Bangladesh in 2010.
Karthik will certainly wait for an opportunity to make his presence felt in the longer-format of the game.
Sanju Samson
The young wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala has shown a lot of promise early in career. He has impressed one and all with his elegant style of batting.
Moreover, he has been in great touch in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). Although he mentioned that he is not eyeing an Indian spot yet, he will be keen to cash in if an opportunity comes his way.
The 23-year-old has played 44 first-class games scoring 2602 runs at an average of touch under 40. Meanwhile, he is also good with the gloves on and will wait for an opportunity to prove his worth at the highest level.
Also read: Knee injury rules Afghan pacer Zadran out of inaugural Test