IND vs SA | Wriddhiman Saha had fire in his belly to play for India again, says Jayanta Bhowmick
Wriddhiman Saha's childhood coach Jayanta Bhowmick believed that he had the burning desire to play for India again after his shoulder injury almost threatened to end his career. The wicket-keeper showed fantastic keeping ability, taking two absolute blinders in the second test against South Africa.
Saha's major shoulder injury had coincided with Rishabh Pant's rise in form. The 35-year-old could have easily thought of it as the end of the road of his international career. But his coach Jayanta Bhowmick said that he always had a desire to make a strong comeback and play for India again one day.
"It was a major injury (shoulder). After being operated on, he (Saha) went for rehab to the NCA. He is a serious player. But at that time he couldn’t move his arms at all. He didn’t compromise with the schedule he was allotted during the rehab and training. I could see the hunger of making a comeback and getting back to the field in him. He had the fire in his belly to wear the Indian jersey again," Bhowmick told TOI.
The coach believed that the comeback of Saha would have come earlier had he been just a batsman. But the fact that he wanted to contribute to his team both with bat and behind the stumps, it required twice the amount of effort from him to get back into fine shape and into the Indian Test side.
"When he (Saha) came to Siliguri (Saha’s home town), he came and met me. We discussed a lot of things. He just said - 'Sir, I want to get back to the field as soon as possible'. He wanted to maintain his fitness. Had he been just a batsman, the comeback would have come a bit earlier. But he is a wicketkeeper batsman. So he had to double his hard work to regain his place in the side,” he said.
The biggest advice Bhowmick gave Saha was to stay patient and not rush into things quickly. The rehab process was a step-by-step process which required a lot of patience.
"We had a lot of discussions. I knew he will make a comeback. The only thing I told him is to be patient. After recuperating, he went to the NCA and passed the fitness test as well. He was patient and wanted to take it one step at a time. He slowly made his way to the domestic tournaments and analysed his performances. We sat together and discussed the training regime. I didn’t want him to take any pressure. I just told him one thing ‘go slow, you will succeed’," he asserted.
After getting fit and performing well in the domestic tournaments, Saha got his chance in India A against West Indies A and South Africa A. By this time, Rishabh Pant began to show poor form. The team management believed that in Indian conditions where spinners generate uneven bounce and turn, it was important to have an experienced keeper. So after a long time, Saha made his comeback in the ongoing India vs South Africa series.
"He (Saha) trained according to the pitches (for the series vs South Africa). He worked a lot on his follow-through. He worked on his dive moves as well," he said.
"He would sit on his knees for a long time. He worked a lot on his hand and feet coordination. Where to stand and that too against a particular bowler, he had everything in mind," he added.
Bhowmick was very proud of Saha when he heard praises about his keeping from everyone, including captain Virat Kohli.
"After listening to Virat's words, I sat back and relaxed. The words were the result of Wriddhi's hard work. If Virat says Wriddhi is the best, that means he is the best in the world for sure," he said.
In the end, he had a personal message for his student and it was a proud teacher who was delivering the message.
"Wriddhi, you have always made me proud. Keep shining", Bhowmick concluded.
