My father is helping with catching practice, reveals Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Saha has been continuing practice in the confines of his flat
|BCCI
Wriddhiman Saha has revealed that he is continuing to train in any way possible inside his flat and his father has been helping him with catching practice. The seasoned wicketkeeper has been highly acclaimed for his exceptional glovework throughout his India career which started in 2010.
Due to his unexceptional batting and the fact that he has always come up against great competition, Wriddhiman Saha never really found a regular place in the Indian side, except for a few years in between Dhoni and Pant. However, his remarkable glovework was always hailed by fans and experts. When it comes to catching in the subcontinent, Saha’s keeping skills are compared to that of Dhoni’s. Saha, who has played 37 Tests for India, revealed that he is training indoors and his father has been helping him out with the catching practice. Saha had picked up a shoulder surgery in 2018-19 that had kept him out of the game for a long time but he pressed that is wasn’t the same as the lockdown phase. He stated that while the former situation had kept him out of the game, the ongoing phase has given him the option to minimal training at the least.
"Whatever drills possible in the confines of my apartment, I am doing that. So I do a lot of hand-eye coordination drills which are a must for keepers. At times, I am throwing a softball against the wall and catching to get the feel. At times, my father (Prashanta Saha) is helping me inside the flat. Yes, I can move sideways and catch[ as there is enough space in the flat]," Wriddhiman told TOI.
"That time (post surgery), I couldn't keep for months because of surgery but here if I want I can do my keeping drills. Look, it's not that I am not in touch. It's not that you get completely out of touch during lockdown. Yes, running is the thing that I am not able to do because of lockdown. So that's a wait. Now inside our apartment complex, they are allowing us to walk in evenings."
India's Strength & Conditioning coach Nick Webb had given personalised training charts to everyone in the team. But Saha admitted that despite having some equipment, it's not possible to have a disciplined training routine inside the apartment with a young family. While coaches are speaking about a time frame of six to eight weeks to return to competitive match fitness, Saha admitted that he wouldn't exclusively want to put a time-frame on his match-readiness. He also declared that he will find his rhythm of catching the ball while he is on the field keeping again.
"Yes, I have some normal equipment. Obviously, not like a whole gym. Since my family is here, I am training as much as I am able to. I don't have a specific duration of training. Bowlers, pacers in particular yes, they would need time proper running, hitting the lengths, getting the pace up there, it takes time. Batsmen won't take that much time. I can't say you can put a timeline as such. Like there could be players, who might be match-ready after four sessions or maybe take a few more. As far as I am concerned, I don't think timelines work for me to be specific,” he added.Â
"Depends on the mindset. It's not necessary that keeping up to spinners will be difficult. Maybe it can happen that very first day of a match, I find that I am in rhythm while gathering deliveries."
