IND vs NZ | Didn't know if Rishabh Pant would start the match, reveals Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddiman Saha has reflected back on his feelings after being snubbed against New Zealand as the wicketkeeper-batsman revealed he didn’t know if Pant would start the match. India had a disastrous Test series against the Blackcaps, losing both the Tests by convincing margins away from home.
During the two-match Test series in New Zealand, it was expected that Wriddhiman Saha will take the field with the Indian team as the keeper. But, captain Virat Kohli had other ideas. Rishabh Pant, who was not picked for a single Test during the Indian home season, was suddenly brought back into the side knowing the fact that the former has slowly and steadily evolved into India’s second-best wicketkeeper-batsman behind MS Dhoni. He’s got great reflexes, and in recent years, Saha has put in some world-class shifts behind the stumps.
After the recent Test series loss against New Zealand, Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha finally opened up on the management's decision to pick Pant over him. Saha was also a part of the squad touring New Zealand but was benched as the team persisted with Pant for both the matches.
“I haven’t been informed anything personally yet. But I keep the team in front and individual choices later. If team decides Rishabh will play, I will be fine with it as I want the team to win,” said Saha as quoted by Sportstar.
Saha averages 30 in Tests while Rishabh Pant averaged above 40 at the start of the New Zealand Tests. Pant had also scored centuries in Australia and England. During that time, Saha was out of action with a prolonged injury. The Bengal player was selected ahead of Pant during the home season and had performed exceptionally well with the gloves. But, Pant was called back into the XI for the New Zealand Tests with the team citing him as a better batsman than Saha.
The tiny wicketkeeper added that it wasn't tough for him since he was still a part of the squad but he still felt hopeful of playing as he played the last Test series. Earlier, former chief Selector Sandeep Patil had also criticised the Indian Team management for picking Pant over Saha and playing with the latter's career.
“Normally, every player gets to know the squad before the match when the batting order is decided. I got to know after going there. It is not tough because you are still part of the team. You have to go by team management decision based on the conditions but yes, inside, you feel that hopefully you will play since you played the last Test series,” he added.