Indian cricketer in focus: Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Saha with the Duleep Trophy in 2012

Not many cricket fans have heard of a quaint little hamlet called Shaktigarh, nestled in the crook of the beautiful city of Siliguri – a transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the north-eastern states.

The gentle Mahananda river caresses both as it continues on its journey around the Himalayan foothills. Shaktigarh, for most, is a developing hub of sporting activity; many of India’s Kho-Kho players have trained on its grounds.

Cricket made its mark too here, and the city gave the sport their son-of-the-soil, a wiry, plucky lad by the name of Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha.

Now comes the obvious question: Wriddhiman who?

Born on 24 October 1984, Wriddhiman moved quickly through the youth ranks in the hierarchy of Indian cricket, having played as a wicket-keeper batsman for the Under-19 team.

He was drafted into the Bengal Ranji side after veteran player and former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta joined the rebel Indian Cricket League. Making his one-day debut in the Ranji Trophy during the 2006-07 season, Saha was out for a duck in his debut innings. He played three more one-dayers for East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy without too much success, although he did perform reasonably well behind the stumps.

His breakthrough season came in 2007-08, when he debuted for Bengal in the four-day version of the Ranji Trophy. Playing against a formidable Hyderabad side, Wriddhiman smashed a magnificent, unbeaten 111, becoming the 15th Bengal player to score a hundred on Ranji debut. Later in the season, he made it to the East Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy.

On the strength of his domestic performances, the Shaktigarh lad was selected by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural IPL season. Saha got a fair number of games, and showed his batting prowess as well as his athleticism behind the stumps – becoming one of the mainstays in the line up.

After a lacklustre showing in the 2009 and 2010 editions, Wriddhiman signed with the Chennai Super Kings in 2011 and played some scintillating knocks to steer the Men in Yellow to their second consecutive IPL title.

His exploits did not go unnoticed by the selectors. They drafted him into the Test squad for the home series against South Africa in place of the more stylish Dinesh Karthik. The announcement was met with raised eyebrows, despite the fact that Saha had been picked as a reserve keeper. However, injuries to both VVS Laxman and reserve batsman Rohit Sharma paved the way for the Bengal player to make his Test debut.

Despite a watchful 36 in the second innings, he couldn’t prevent a heavy defeat for his side, and was dropped for the rest of the series. He subsequently played in the fourth Test of the 2012 Border-Gavaskar Trophy when Dhoni was banned for a slow over rate; India ended up losing that game and the series 0-4.

Now, Wriddhiman isn’t your typical flamboyant wicket-keeper. He isn’t in the mould of MS Dhoni, Karthik or even Parthiv Patel. He is more of a workman, in a style somewhat reminiscent of a younger Rahul Dravid. The quiet way he goes about building his innings, you’d hardly notice him.

Wriddhiman Saha

Adversity is a true test of a batsman – and Saha has more often than not passed that test with flying colours. He doesn’t play the big shots as frequently as his more glamourous colleagues. By his own admission: “I go for my shots only when I am well-set, and that too depending on the match situation.“

Because he is technically sound, as he showed in that last Test match at Adelaide, and eschews aggressive batting till he is settled, the general perception is that his batting is inferior compared to Dhoni or Karthik. This is why his selection for the SA series was met with skepticism. But the doubters were made to eat their words after his steady knock held the brittle middle-order together in the face of hostile bowling by Dale Steyn and co.

At this moment, Saha is regarded (well, at least in the domestic circuit) as the finest wicket-keeper in the country. Not for him the needless shouts, vociferous appeals or exuberant animation behind the stumps. He reminds one of those old accountants, sitting in a corner and making journal entries without drawing too much attention to himself – unobtrusive, but effective.

He has always conducted himself with humility, as his Bengal teammates will tell you. After scoring 170 against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy final of 2012, the soft-spoken player interacted with a handful of spectators with a demeanour that prompted a journalist to say that he’d never seen a more humble cricketer in decades.

Wriddhiman Saha

His small-town roots have helped keep his feet firmly on the ground – he is not the kind to be bothered about glamour and wealth despite playing in the cash-rich IPL.

India needs a fighter like Wriddhiman Saha in the days to come. The void formed by the departure of Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman needs to be filled soon, and the wiry, unassuming young man is one of the possible candidates to step into those shoes. Till then, he waits in the wings for his chance.