Wriddhiman Saha Has Come of Age

By: Sandipan Bose

Wriddhiman Saha is finally getting some runs for his team, Kings XI Punjab, in the IPL. This is a good news for the Indian Test team, which is yet to fill the gap left behind after MS Dhoni’s retirement.

With India scheduled to play several Test matches this season, the team would indeed feel blessed to have someone who can contribute with the gloves and bat with same intensity.

Technique wise, Wriddhiman is a good wicketkeeper, but he hasn’t able to score runs consistently. Be it playing for his state team Bengal, his IPL outfit or the Indian Test team, he is not the batsman you can trust to stay on the crease in an hour of crisis.

Despite such a lackluster batting reputation, Saha played a good knock against the Delhi Daredevils the other night. He was again at it against the Mumbai Indians on Friday.

Without a doubt, he can hit the ball well but it’s only his lack of consistency with the bat that can hurt his future chances.

The fact that Dhoni is still discussed after retiring from Test cricket more than one year ago is because of Saha’s inconsistent batting displays.

Saha is among the top 20 run-scorers in the ongoing IPL season and has scored 216 runs from nine matches. It is his performance against Delhi and Mumbai that has given him a boost in the total numbers of runs.

Otherwise some of his competitors like Dinesh Karthik has a better batting record than Saha with 266 runs from 11 games.

Things have come to such a pass that if Saha doesn’t show enough consistency with the bat in the days to come, KL Rahul, who is a settled Test opener for India, can also be given the role of wicketkeeper.

Rahul, right now, is doing just fine behind the stumps for the RCB team and if given a chance to be a wicketkeeper in the Tests, it won’t make life difficult for a candidate like Saha.

Lets hope the Bengal cricket is taking note of this.