On this day, Former Indian wicket keeper batter Wriddhiman Saha has turned 39 years old today. The wicketkeeper-batter started playing for his state-side Bengal. Notably, his opportunity came at a time when former India stumper and now commentator, Deep Dasgupta signed in the now-defunct rebel league, Indian Cricket League (ICL). The right-hander immediately made an impact with a hundred on debut.
However, for the rest of the season in 2007-08, Saha managed to get only one more fifty. In the inaugural IPL season, the Siliguri-born was picked for his home franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, the team that donned Black and Gold. Till 2010, he remained the part of the team before moving to Chennai Super Kings in 2011 till 2013. From 2014 to 2017, the Bengal player was signed by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
Another mega auction five years back meant that it was time for to move to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Last year, another mega auction took place and since then, he has been part of the 2022 IPL winners, Gujarat Titans. On the other hand, talking about his international career, he accidently made his debut in a Test match against South Africa at home in early 2010.
Apparently, Rohit Sharma, who was supposed to make his debut, collided with Saha in the dying stages of the pre-match practice (as claimed by Sharma in an interview with Breakfast with Champions). Meanwhile, after this, Saha remained the understudy for most times before he got another opportunity in Australia two years later.
Apparently, MS Dhoni was out of what turned out to be Rahul Dravid’s last Test of his career in Adelaide due to slow over rate. Even though the Asian side had another forgettable game on the 2011-12 tour, Saha did decently. In late 2014, when Dhoni announced his retirement from Tests, Saha became a regular before Rishabh Pant started making his place in the team in 2021. Currently, the team management has moved on from him and seems like he is enjoying the game and doesn’t seem to be in reckoning to make another comeback
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