IND vs BAN | Stayed positive during my rehab, never thought what would happen, reveals Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Saha was India's first-choice keeper in Tests post-Dhoni's retirement from Tests and his wicket-keeping skills especially on turning and bouncy tracks showed just how good he was behind the wickets. But a shoulder injury saw him ruled out of India's overseas tours and that is where young Rishabh Pant grabbed his opportunity with both hands scoring hundreds in both England and Australia.

However, Pant's form of late has been worrying the Indian team management and especially with the Test series on Indian pitches where there are turn and uneven bounce. They showed faith in Saha again to return to the starting eleven and he repaid their faith by showing some excellent wicket-keeping skills during the South Africa series. He always believed that he could make a comeback and this positive approach is what helped him during his rehab recover quickly.

"Of course when you are out of the side, it’s always difficult to return to limelight. But I always stayed positive during my rehab. I never thought about what would happen next. I just concentrated on my rehab and training," Saha told The Indian Express.

"Probably the team has the belief, which is a reason why I returned to the playing XI. And I tried to contribute," he further added.

Saha is by far the best wicket-keeper India has got at the moment and he touched on some important points that one needs to become a good quality wicket-keeper.

"A lot of things come into play. It starts with judging the line and the pace of the ball. Following the ball till the last minute. Soft hands. But behind everything, there’s hard work. It basically comes down to practice. It doesn’t happen directly in the match. There’s a mental aspect to this as well; the desire that every ball will come to me," Saha asserted.

Saha is one of the few players in the Indian squad who has had the experience of playing with the pink-ball as he played the CAB Super League Final, which was a four-day game at the Eden Gardens in 2016. He gave his opinion on how tough it is for a keeper to keep under the lights and what can one expect from the pink-ball Test.

"Under lights, the ball will move and all our fast bowlers clock 140kph or more. When I played the CAB Super League final, picking the pink ball under lights was a tad difficult after it got old. You can’t eliminate the problem in two days’ practice (an early finish of the first Test against Bangladesh at Indore has allowed the team a couple of extra days of training). You have to adapt during the game," Saha stated.

Saha also commented on Umesh Yadav's rise in Bumrah's absence and consistency in his line and length, showing that India's bench strength is so strong that anyone on the day can do the job for the team.

"He (Umesh) is not someone who shies away from training if he is not in the team. Also, he is very consistent these days, which again is down to training and hard work. There’s a reason why our reserve bench is so strong; every player is always match ready," he concluded.