When to retire, Widdhiman Saha knows: Coach Jayanta

According to Wriddhiman Saha’s childhood coach Jayanta Bhowmik, different criteria for selection should not be used for various players of the Indian cricket squad. The Bengal cricket coach also expressed his disappointment with the team management’s and senior selection committee’s decision to leave the veteran wicketkeeper out of the Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka in March.

The Indian team management has told Saha, who has undoubtedly been one of the best wicketkeepers in Test cricket, that it is looking beyond him in order to train a young wicketkeeper, while Rishabh Pant remains the first-choice gloveman in Test cricket.

The 37-year-old, who has played 40 Tests for India in the last 12 years, recently revealed that he was told to consider retirement if he wanted, and that head coach Rahul Dravid told him during the South Africa tour that he shouldn’t be surprised if his name was missing from the Test squad for the Sri Lanka Test series, which begins on March 4.

In the 18-man team, the senior selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, chose Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper and Andhra Pradesh’s KS Bharat as the backup option. Saha further confirmed that he had been advised by head selector Sharma that he would no longer be considered.

Jayanta told indiatoday.in that he appreciated Dravid’s decision to speak to Saha ahead of time but questioned why he was left out of the Test team.

Last year, Saha made his debut for India in a two-Test series against New Zealand, scoring a fighting fifty in the series opener. Despite flying to South Africa for the three-test series, which India lost 1-2, he was not selected in the XI.

“What factors were used to make this decision? This is my inquiry. The criteria for selecting a player, regardless of the team, are always fitness and performance. If age isn’t a consideration, then why hasn’t he been selected? What exactly is the issue? There are seasoned cricketers in the squad, so why will Wriddhiman Saha be the only one to be dropped?” Jayanta remarked.