Have enough depth to deal with Warner absence if needed: Saha

The jury may be out on whether David Warner will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad but Wriddhiman Saha said while it would be unfortunate if the swashbuckling Australian isn’t there, the team has enough depth to deal with the situation.

“To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been a decision on this yet but if he isn’t playing, we can replace him,” said Saha speaking at a media conference on Tuesday.

“Yes, it would be a setback initially if the captain is not around because a team is built with certain plans around the skipper but I think, we will be able to get around it,” he said, referring to the possibility of Sunrisers, who bought Saha for ~5 crore this term, missing Warner because of the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa.

That the ball-tampering issue would feature prominently in a conversation with an international cricketer, who is perhaps the best wicket-keeper in the business in redball cricket, was inevitable. Saha said such a thing couldn’t have happened without the whole team backing the decision.

“It is difficult to believe that this was done by one or two people without the rest knowing about it,” he said. That being the case, Saha felt punishment too should be meted out evenly. “I think it is unfair that someone would be punished more than others,” he said.

When the focus of the interaction shifted to the 11th edition of the IPL, Saha said one of the advantages of Sunrises is that they have a strong bowling unit. “As a team we would back ourselves to defend a low score. Our bowlers can win matches and that gives batsmen a lot of confidence,” he said. Fronting their bowling is last season’s highest wicket-taker Bhuvneshwar Kumar who finished the season with 26 scalps. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who took 17 wickets in 14 games, too is in the side and Saha said he hopes training for a week in Hyderabad would be enough to get an idea of how to keep to the leg-spinner.

Saha, who hit a 20-ball 102 (6x14, 4x4) in a T20 match for Mohun Bagan recently, said he can’t help it if he is identified as a Test-match specialist, adding that he gives his best in whatever format he plays. “It is not really my fault that I have played nine ODIs in over eight years. I try to do my best and then let the selectors decide,” he said.

KOLKATA: It would be a setback if the captain is not around because a team is built with certain plans but we will be able to get around it. WRIDDHIMAN SAHA, On Sunrisers skipper Warner’s absence.