Mumbai: With India going to play 17 Test matches this calendar year, it’s a welcome opportunity for wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha to step into Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s shoes righaway. Barring an injury, it’s almost certain that Saha will be the first-choice wicket-keeper for Virat Kohli and Co when start their Test sojourn in the Caribbean islands.
“I will try to score a good 70-odd runs to help the team gain advantage over the opposition. If I am successful, it will be good for me and the side as well,” Saha was quoted as saying by sports portal XtraTime.
Saha has been under the shadow of Dhoni for quite some time despite being in the forefront with his superb show in the domestic tournaments. Saha’s chances came when Dhoni last year decided to hang up his boots for the logest version of the game and Kohli taking the mantle of India’s Test team.
The 31-year-old glovesman, who has so far played 11 Tests in which he has hit two fifties with 14 catches and five stumpings under his belt, knows it better than anybody else what it takes to fill in the void created by Dhoni’s departure. “After Dhoni bhai’s retirement, filling his place as the wicketkeeper is not an easy task because he has had won many matches for us. He was a dominant character in world cricket,” Saha was quoted.
However, the Bengal wicketkeeper is confident of pulling it off in the West Indies and for that Dhoni’s words still seems reverberate in his ears. “Dhoni bhai always suggested me to work on my natural wicket keeping instincts and gave invaluable tips on how to keep wickets in different conditions like Australia and other places in the world,” he revealed.