Veteran India wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday said he could understand that it would have been “difficult to swallow” for Wriddhiman Saha when the team management decided to go ahead with him, but said the call was quite understandable as Rishabh Pant had “too much” to find his place in the side.” Praising Saha’s wicketkeeping skills, who was dropped from the Indian Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, Karthik said, “But you can see that Rishabh Pant has solidified his place in the team. Then again, you can understand where the Indian team is headed, where they feel that if it is a second keeper’s role, they will look at a younger player.”
Karthik was sympathetic to Saha, saying that it was not easy for a cricketer to accept the disapproval.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer said in the ICC review, “I am quite sure that wherever I have seen Wriddhiman’s interviews, he understands where this decision is coming from.”
“I know no cricketer will accept that when you are being asked to move on. It is very tough because this is what they have been doing day in and day out.
“We all want to represent the country and that’s everyone’s burning desire. So when someone says, ‘I guess it’s your time,’ it can be hard to swallow. But it’s understandable. And you have to understand where the selectors, coaches and captains are coming from,” said Karthik.
He praised Saha’s contribution to Indian cricket. “Thanks to Wriddhiman Saha. I think he has been one of those wonderful, quiet servants of Indian cricket who has done so well over the years.” “He’s still one of the best wicketkeepers in the world, from afar – I count him as the best wicketkeeper in the world. He’s got great hands, he walks really well… He’s a fantastic wicketkeeper Add to that the fact that he has some hundreds in international cricket and played some important, crucial innings when Team India needed it.”
But after Pant emerged, Karthik said it was understandable why the team management decided to go ahead with Saha.
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“Like MS Dhoni came in all those years, we have a Rishabh Pant who has come in over the years and performed really well,” he added. “When that happens, Saha obviously becomes the second wicketkeeper and he is traveling with the team and playing odd matches here and there.” The 37-year-old Saha was left out of India’s Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka, in which Pant and KS Bharat were selected for the competition.
Saha later revealed that he was told by India’s head coach Rahul Dravid that the team would like to move on from the veteran. Saha has represented India in 40 Tests, scoring 1,353 runs with three centuries and six fifties and 104 dismissals.
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