Kolkata, Aug 13: He may be 39, but if experts are to be believed and his reflexes and dismissals behind the stumps are to be taken into account, then he is still one of the best wicketkeepers of India at the highest level.
He competed very hard and earned his place in Team India years back. Many of his former competitors including MS Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Naman Ojha have taken retirements from domestic and international cricket.
But he is still around and jostling shoulder to shoulder with youngsters Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Druv Jurel, Jitesh Sharma, and Abhishek Porel to name a few.
Yes, India's veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha is still around and doing well. He has been around in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for years as well and for Gujarat Giants, he has been a star.
After MS Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket, Saha was almost a regular in India's red-ball games. But injuries, arrival of dynamic Pant in the horizon and his own struggle with the bat at times, allowed other youngsters to sneak in.
But if former players, retired wicketkeepers are to be taken into confidence, Saha is still is one of the best keepers of India.
His poor form and a few incidents perhaps forced him to opt for Tripura and leave his home team Bengal for two seasons of domestic cricket.
However, he is ready to sweat hard for his native state and years-long domestic team Bengal in the coming season. Saha confirmed that he is ready to play for Bengal in all three formats from the coming season.
Is he eyeing retirement? The answer from his side was a big 'no', during his interaction with the media on Monday.
While he interacted with the press in Kolkata, he was accompanied by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly and CAB secretary Naresh Ojha.
Saha has played 40 Tests for India and he last represented India in December 2021. In his 40 Test appearances, he scored 1353 runs at an average of 29.41 with three centuries and six fifties. In 9 ODIs, he scored a total of 41 runs.
But as keeper he is impressive with 92 catches and 12 stumpings in 40 Test matches. Similarly, in 9 ODIs, he has 17 catches and 1 stumping. That is surely admirable.
Will young Bengal keeper-batter Abishek Porel be a challenge for him? Saha's reply was sharp. He stated that he is willing to work with Porel for the betterment of Bengal team.
