Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha
Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha. (Photo: Twitter)

India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that he sympathizes with fellow keeper Wriddhiman Saha after he revealed that the Indian team management including coach Rahul Dravid, and BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma told him that he would no longer be picked for the Indian team in Tests going forward.

In an explosive expose, Saha,37, revealed that coach Dravid and Chetan Sharma said the same thing that Rishabh Pant was now the first-choice keeper in the Indian Test team and they wanted to give someone young like KS Bharat a chance to solidify his place for future and hence, it was the end of the road for the Bengal keeper in the Indian Test team.

Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. Photo- Getty
Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. Photo- Getty

You Can Understand Which Direction The Indian Team Is Going In: Dinesh Karthik On Wriddhiman Saha Being Dropped For Rishabh Pant

Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday said he could understand it would have been a “hard one to swallow” for Wriddhiman Saha when the team management decided to move on from him but said the call was pretty understandable as Rishabh Pant had “pretty much nailed his place in the side.”

Lauding the wicket-keeping skills of Saha, who was excluded from the Indian Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, Karthik said, “But you can see Rishabh Pant has pretty much nailed his place in the team. So then, you can understand which direction the Indian team is going in where they feel that if it’s going to be a second keeper role, then they’ll look at somebody younger.”

Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant . Credits: Twitter
Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant . Credits: Twitter

“I’m pretty sure from wherever I’ve seen with Wriddhiman’s interviews, he understands where this decision is coming from. I know no cricketer is going to accept that when you’re being told to move on. It is a very hard one because this is what they’ve been doing day in and day out. All of us want to represent the country and that is the burning desire for everybody. So when somebody comes in says, ‘I think your time is done,’ it can be a hard one to swallow. But it is understandable and you have to understand where the selectors, the coach and the captain are coming from,” Karthik said.

Just Like MS Dhoni Came In All Those Years Ago: Dinesh Karthik

Calling Saha the best wicketkeeper in the world, Karthik cited the example of MS Dhoni replacing him and Parthiv Patel in the Indian team, saying that it was understandable why the team management took the decision to move on from Saha.

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India's Dinesh Karthik (L) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R). PHOTO- AFP / Prakash SINGH
India’s Dinesh Karthik (L) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R). PHOTO- AFP / Prakash SINGH

He said: “Just like MS Dhoni came in all those years ago, we’ve had a Rishabh Pant who’s come in over the last couple of years and has done really well. When that happens, Saha has obviously become the second wicketkeeper and he has been travelling with the team and playing the odd match here and there.”

Saha has represented India in 40 Tests, scoring 1,353 runs with three centuries and six fifties and effected 104 dismissals.

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