Injured Wriddhiman Saha in Doubt for England Tests, Dinesh Karthik Likely Replacement
Monday, July 16, 2018 IST
New Delhi: India’s first choice wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha is unlikely to make the cut for the Test series in England. Saha had injured his thumb during the IPL and while it was initially believed that he would be fit in four to five weeks, the recovery hasn’t gone as per plan and he was seen sporting a soft plaster even last week. Dinesh Karthik, who stepped in for Saha for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, is likely to continue in the role.
Saha has lost the battle to get fit in time for either the four-day ‘unofficial’ Test against England Lions from Monday at Worcester or the four-day warm-up match against Essex, which starts on July 25 in Chelmsford. The team management has been very vocal about players acclimatising to conditions before taking the field for the senior team and that is the reason some of the top-order batsmen are expected to play in the India ‘A’ game.
Speaking to CricketNext, a source in the know of developments said that more than the healing of the thumb, the lack of match practice was also something that makes it difficult for the player to make the Test squad for the first match of the series in Edgbaston from August 1.
“Saha’s injury hasn’t healed as per plan and to be fair there isn’t a chance that he would be match-fit when the team takes the field in the first game. Even though he was working on his fitness all this while, he could not keep wickets or bat with the soft plaster on. Game time is also something that the current management is looking into and it has been a while since Saha last played any form of cricket.
“Some of the Test specialists are already in England and will be a part of the unofficial Test against the England Lions and Saha now doesn’t look like he will make it even for the Essex game. In such a circumstance it is only fair that someone like Karthik gets his chance as the player has been with the team and is aware of the conditions on offer. Also, he was the one called in to replace Saha for the Afghanistan Test,” he said.
The selectors are expected to pick the squad after the ongoing ODI series and could even wait for the unofficial Test to get over on July 19 before announcing the squad.
Another selection dilemma will be whether to go ahead and bring back fit-again pacer Mohammed Shami, especially with Jasprit Bumrah set to miss the first Test and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar suffering from a bad back. Shami passed the Yo-Yo test a couple of weeks back after failing to clear it before the Afghanistan Test.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
Shikhar Dhawan, his wife and kids went out for a stroll in the streets with Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma. India, on a tour of the United Kingdom, have ...
Recently posted . 741 views . 2 min read
Eoin Morgan scored 51 as India lost to England by seven wickets in Virat Kohli’s debut match as full-time T20I captain. Moeen Ali was the Man of the ...
Recently posted . 718 views . 37 min read
At 23 years and 153 days old, Imam claimed the record that was previously held by former India skipper Kapil Dev who scored 175* against Zimbabwe in 1983 at the a...
Recently posted . 862 views . 1 min read
Virat Kohli-led India won the toss towards Bangladesh inside the one-off check and elected to bat. For the hosts, Ajinkya Rahane replaces Karun Nair and Wr...
Recently posted . 544 views . 14 min read
The Juventus forward netted in the 109th minute to complete a remarkable comeback.
Recently posted . 525 views . 1 min read
Trending News & Articles
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (Marathi: श्री. खाशाबा दादासाहेब जाधव, January 15, 1926 – August 14, 1984) was an Indian athlete. He is best known as a wrestler who...
Recently posted . 6K views . 60 min read
There's a scene in the movie 'Captain', a freshly-minted Malayalam biopic on former India defender VP Sathyan, which tries to capture the conflict rag...
Recently posted . 2K views . 1 min read
These are exciting times for Indian football.
India is set to host a FIFA World Cup and participate in it for the first time. The under-17 World Cup begins ...
Recently posted . 2K views . 2 min read
Virat Kohli is one of the fittest players in Indian cricket team but he is not the fittest of all.
Recently posted . 2K views . 0 min read
More in Sports
Virender Sehwag revealed the reason behind not applying for India head coach’s position this year despite being one of the strongest contenders last time ar...
Recently posted. 755 views . 1 min read
PV Sindhu's gallant effort to become India's 1st ever World Champion led to a heart- painful defeat against Nozomi Okuhara in associate epic final.
...
Recently posted. 627 views . 17 min read
Novak Djokovic's Australian Open victory was simply magnificent as he embarrassed Rafael Nadal in 124 minutes of spellbinding dominance.
Recently posted. 661 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 3K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Virat Kohli, the Indian cricketing captain is not only a star player but also a smart investor. The 28 year old cricket sensation holds the second largest brand val...
Recently posted. 747 views . 1 min read
Philippe Coutinho put in another fine display for Barcelona against Villarreal on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou.
Recently posted. 485 views . 0 min read