Wriddhiman Saha Is One Of The Best Wicketkeepers In The World, Says Dinesh Karthik

India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has lauded his countryman and fellow wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha as one of the best wicketkeepers in the world and probably the best gloveman in India at present.

Currently, Wriddhiman Saha is part of the Indian squad which is facing England in a series of four Test matches. However, he last played a Test match for India in Adelaide in 2020, which India lost. After that match, India decided to bring in Rishabh Pant to strengthen the batting as Virat Kohli returned home for paternal leave and that meant leaving out Wriddhiman Saha.

Since then, he has not been able to claw his way back into the team, despite Team India preferring him at home, where his keeping skills are of value because of the difficulty levels. But Rishabh Pant has shown tremendous improvement with the gloves as well in recent times and thanks to his purple patch with the bat, has been preferred in the ongoing series.

Indian Team Management To Keep Wriddhiman Saha As The Second Choice-Keeper For The Foreseeable Future: Dinesh Karthik   

Talking with Sportskeeda.com’s Indranil Basu, Dinesh Karthik lauded Wriddhiman Saha as India’s best wicketkeeper and urged the Indian team management to keep him as the second choice wicketkeeper for as long as he is able to play at the top level.

“Without doubt, Wriddhiman Saha is the best gloveman in India. To be fair, he is one of the best glovemen in the world. I genuinely hope they keep him in the system as a second keeper for a long, long time. They shouldn’t give away the second keeper slot,” said Dinesh Karthik.

“Really hope that Saha gets his due and till the time he wishes to play, they should hold on to him as a second keeper because of his experience. He will be playing as a keeper-batsman in most of the cricketing world for sure. Just unlucky right now in India, Rishabh Pant is ahead of him,” he explained.

Wriddhiman Saha is a natural keeper and makes taking catches look easy: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, who made his Test debut in 2004, said that from observing Saha from close quarters, he has noticed that the Bengal gloveman is a natural wicketkeeper who is a great receiver of the ball, hence makes looks catching very easy. He also called him special when it comes to having great and soft hands.

“He’s a very natural keeper from what I have observed. He is able to make tough catches look a lot easier, and that is always been a trait of somebody who is very special. He’s very athletic; he has got great hands. His ability to take catches and make it look easy is what sets him apart.” Karthik added.

However, before concluding, Dinesh Karthik opined that the Indian team should continue with Saha as the backup keeper if Rishabh Pant ever gets injured, because Saha is just too good to be ignored. The 36-year-old has played 38 Tests, scoring 1251 runs at an average of 29.09. Saha has scored 3 centuries five 50s in his Test career.

“Every time they go abroad or even in India, having a person like Wriddhiman Saha will instill a lot of confidence, knowing if at all Rishabh pulls up, Saha will be a very, very able replacement. Hopefully, he plays for as long as his body permits,” Karthik concluded.

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