Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Saha is a cricketer who represents India at international level and Bengal in Indian domestic cricket. Born on 24 October 1984, Saha is a wicket-keeper and a right-hand batsman. The man from Bengal is the current first-choice wicketkeeper in the Indian Test team, having taken over the gloves after the retirement of MS Dhoni.

Table of Contents

1. Career
2. Background

Career

Domestic Career

Wriddhiman Saha made his way through the ranks in Bengal cricket, playing for the Under-19 and Under-22 teams before being called up for first-class cricket. Saha made his debut in the Ranji Trophy against Hyderabad in the 2006-07 season after regular wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta signed up with the Indian Cricket League.

He scored an unbeaten 111 and became the 15th Bengal player to score a century on his debut. He has represented East Zone in the national zonal competitions on multiple occasions. Saha managed 318 runs in five games in the 2009-10 Ranji season.

IPL Career

On the back of impressive performances in the domestic circuit, Saha got to don the golden-black jersey of Kolkata Knight Riders for the first three seasons of the IPL.

In 2014 IPL Auction Saha was purchased by Kings XI Punjab as a specialist wicketkeeper. In the tournament Saha not only took some good catches but also contributed with the bat. He made 362 runs at an average of 32.90 and a strike rate of 145.38. Perhaps the best inning of Saha's career came in the IPL Final against his former team Kolkata Knight Riders. Saha became the first player to score a hundred in an IPL final when he made an unbeaten 115 runs from 55 balls, including 10 fours and 8 sixes. However, his hundred was overshadowed by Manish Pandey's brilliance and Kings XI Punjab couldn't lift the IPL trophy. In December 2018, he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 1.2 crores in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League. He will be playing the 2020 season with the same franchise.

International Career

Test Career

Saha made his Test debut against South Africa at Nagpur in 2010, as a pure batsman. He was in the squad as the backup ‘keeper but a freak injury to Rohit Sharma in the warmup meant that Saha had to be drafted in.

He failed to score in the first innings but scored 36 in the second innings. facing the second most number of balls in that innings (150) as India hoped to salvaging a dire situation, but eventually tumbled to an innings defeat. India lost the Test and Saha was dropped from the squad for the second Test which India subsequently won to level the two-match series.

Saha's second Test appearance - against Australia in Adelaide in January 2012 - was also somewhat accidental, a result of MS Dhoni's suspension due to a slow over rate.

He also toured South Africa in December 2013, New Zealand in February 2014 and England in July 2014 as part of the test squad but did not get a game.

Saha scored his maiden Test century at St. Lucia on the tour of the Caribbean; on that occasion, India, having been put in to bat, were at 126/5. Saha combined with Ashwin, had a long partnership. India went on to win the Test He has since added two more centuries and his batting average has more than doubled. In the first test against West Indies, Saha became the third wicket-keeper in Indian cricket history to feature in six dismissals in a test innings. He also won the Man of the Match award in the second Test against New Zealand at Kolkata in 2016, by becoming only the third Indian wicket-keeper to score half-centuries in both the innings of a Test match.

In 2017, Saha became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score centuries in home as well as outside Asia.

ODI career

Wriddhiman Saha made his ODI debut against New Zealand on 28 November 2010 in Guwahati. Batting first, India piled on 276 runs with Virat Kohli scoring a blistering century. Saha came down the order but could only manage 5 runs before being caught off Andy McKay's bowling. Saha never really got the long rope in ODIs as MS Dhoni continued to don the wicketkeeper batsman's role.

Background

Wriddhiman Saha was born on 24 October 1984 in Silliguri, West Bengal to Prasanta Saha and Maitrayee Saha. Saha's father used to work in West Bengal State Electricity Board. He is married to Romi Saha since 2011 and the couple together have a daughter named Avni, born in 2013.