Wriddhiman Saha on board’s radar for head coach role amid India vs England series
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Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman and one of the finest glovesmen produced by India, Wriddhiman Saha, announced his retirement from first-class cricket in January this year. Now, within 6 months of retirement, the Cricket Association of Bengal wants him back.
After a long stint with the Bengal State Cricket Team, he is all set to enter a new dimension in his career, as the CAB has reportedly shown interest in acquiring his services as the head coach of the Bengal U23 team.
“The CAB brass will be zeroing in on all the candidates for various teams by next week. Obviously, Wriddhi has been sounded out, and a final decision will be taken next week," as reported by PTI.
CAB offers a new position to Wriddhiman Saha
Saha has only been cited as the head coach of the Bengal U23 team, while the former Bengal skipper, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, will continue in the position of the head coach of the senior Bengal team, of which Saha himself was a part till 6 months ago.
The U-19 team will also continue to play under the guidance of coach Saurashis Lahiri.
“His (Saha) experience of playing top-level cricket for so long will only help the Gen-Next of Bengal cricket. Wriddhi already runs a chain of coaching centres, and he has been a very hands-on coach for juniors. He is passionate about coaching. Hopefully, he will be ready," revealed a CAB source to PTI.
Several futuristic plans have been made for Wriddhiman Saha's career as a coach since he will impart a large amount of his international experience in a coaching role. The Bengal U23 team was coached by Pranab Roy, the former Indian player Pankaj Roy's son.
Many have kept faith in Saha's abilities as a coach, and hence, he might as well join any IPL team in the future in a similar role and may eye the specialist coach role in the BCCI's Centre of Excellence as well.
Saha is placed among Indian legends—know why
Wriddhiman Saha, known for having played 40 Test matches and 9 ODIs for the Indian team, is often regarded as the third most successful player as a Bengali cricketer. The Bengal Cricket Association might have given several players to the national side, but only a few of them are Bengalis.
Keeping aside the likes of Deep Dasgupta and Pranab Roy, only Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy had made it big on the international stage. Sourav Ganguly remains a memorable figure in not only Indian but also world cricket, but Saha's stature is also quite high in the state team.
Wriddhiman Saha's International Career for India
Coming to bat at no. 7 or occasionally at no. 8, Wriddhiman Saha was a pillar for India's success after MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket. He amassed 1353 runs and scored 3 centuries as well. But he was known more as the most acrobatic wicket-keeper, widely regarded for his aerial abilities.
He made his debut for India in Test cricket back in 2010 against South Africa and later that year made his ODI debut as well against New Zealand at Guwahati. However, his major stint in Test cricket came after the retirement of MS Dhoni from Test cricket.
Saha was undoubtedly one of the decent players in the IPL as well, as he has represented many franchises, with the best of his seasons coming with the Punjab Kings back in 2014 and with the Gujarat Titans in 2022 and 2023.
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India National Cricket Team Ranji Trophy Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Bengal Cricket Team Wriddhiman Saha India vs England IND vs ENG
