Saha efforts show it was the right call

– Wriddhiman Saha’s return to the Indian Test side after a long injury-forced absence raised more than a few eyebrows but the wicketkeeper has silenced the doubters in the home series against South Africa.

A wicketkeeper rarely earns kudos purely for his glovework but Saha enjoyed that rare acclaim during the second Test against South Africa at Pune.

While India captain Virat Kohli received the Man-of-the-Match award for his career-best knock of 254, and fast bowler Umesh Yadav and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up six wickets apiece, Saha (left) did not even get a chance to bat.

He had only five dismissals to his name but his impact was hailed by his team-mates.

Saha cemented his place in early 2015 after serving as the incumbent to captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

However, India’s first-choice gloveman suffered a hamstring injury during a Cape Town Test in January last year and was out for 18 months after going through shoulder and finger problems.

He was included in India’s Test squad for their two-match series against West Indies recently but struggled to find a way to displace young Rishabh Pant.

After stepping in to fill the gap left by Saha, the 22-year-old Pant scored centuries in England and Australia, prompting calls for India to invest in him given his age and better returns with the bat.

But Saha’s experience and superior glovework while keeping on spin-friendly wickets at home worked in his favour as he got the nod ahead of Pant for the series against the Proteas. –