England vs India 2018: Wanted to Test Myself in Tough English Conditions - Wriddhiman Saha

The first choice wicketkeeper for India in Tests, Wirddhiman Saha who underwent surgery in London back in July regrets about not being part of the squad for the ongoing five-match Test series against England.

As per reports, a thumb and a shoulder injury had kept Saha out of action for nearly two months now, which caused him the England tour.

All Is Well..now back home..Thank You everyone for keeping me in your prayers. Grateful to @BCCI for taking care of every minute details. pic.twitter.com/Nhj9ogX8X0

— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) August 9, 2018

However, during an interview with the Cricbuzz, the stumper revealed he had pushed himself a lot to be fit in time for the England tour. Meanwhile, it didn’t materialise, as he also didn’t get the green signal from the physios.

“I pushed myself but it wasn’t meant to happen. Everyone keeps talking about England tours. I have been on tour with the team in 2014; it is a real test not just for the wicketkeepers but for everyone to go there and do well,” Saha said.

“I wanted to test myself there in such a valuable series; I wanted to test my pedigree. Don’t know the specifics but maybe because I had taken those injections twice before and hence the third didn’t work as effectively.”

“Again, the doctors can tell you better – the period of treatment and rehab keeps reducing with every injection but when I took the third, I wasn’t getting my full range of movement, and on an England tour, you don’t want to let your team down by going 50-60 per cent fit.”

Wriddhiman Saha wanted to test his skills in England

Saha always wanted to test his skills in difficult English conditions. He feels the ball always does a bit in England even at the last moment. So it is a tough place to keep wickets.

However, Dinesh Karthik was named as the replacement of Saha for the first three Tests. After a couple of poor outings, Karthik got dropped in favour of Rishabh Pant. Later, Pant became the first India wicketkeeper to take five catches in his debut Test innings at Trent Bridge. However, his technique was found wanting in Southampton, as he conceded 30 runs via byes.

“In English conditions, catching is always difficult. The ball does things even at the last moment, at times due to a slight breeze, at times due to heavy weather. The key is to watch the ball into your hands. A lot of it boils down to confidence too,” Saha said.

“A lot depends on the ‘keeper with regards to where the slip fielders would stand. The kind of carry, bounce the wicket has and the pace of the bowler. The amount of movement every bowler gets is different, plus the biggest factor is you got to factor in the reaction time too. I have a pair of gloves; the slip fielders won’t have it, so you got to allow them that extra yard, can’t just be that the ball is falling short and everyone keeps moving forward.”

It was a big setback for India to lose the services of Wriddhiman Saha for such a big series. For a long time, Saha is the most technically sound wicketkeeper India has.