Wriddhiman Saha: 5 players who are threatening to take his place in the Indian team

Despite being an assuring presence behind the stumps, Wriddhiman Saha has contributed with the bat ever since he replaced MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper in Test matches. Gone are the days when wicket-keepers did not know how to bat and his good keeping skills might not be enough to keep Saha in the Test team for long.India's Test captain Virat Kohli was recently effusive in his praise for Saha and backed him to score runs. "I really like Wriddhi's attitude as he is a very hard working cricketer. He is willing to do anything that the team requires. He is a brilliant wicketkeeper and very good with the bat as well. He has got a very good first-class record as he has got lot of runs in pressure situations," Kohli said.But truth be told, that great first-class record has not translated into good performances at the international level and time might just be running out for the promising Bengal keeper.With Saha feeling the heat, let us look at 5 players who are threatening to take his place in the Indian team.Special Mention: 29-year-old Sheldon Jackson of Saurashtra is one of the untested wicketkeepers India can try out in the near future. Jackson started out the current Ranji season with a 97 but has produced a string of disappointing scores after that.

#5 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson might be India’s future

With a first-class batting average of 44.70, Sanju Samson at the age of 20 is India's brightest prospect as a wicket-keeper batsman. Some in the state of Kerala where he hails from already consider him to be the next Tendulkar. The young Samson should not get carried away with such comparisons as he has a good head on his shoulders.

Samson has been doing consistently well in first-class cricket and is also currently the captain of the U-19 team. He, however, rose to limelight for a series of commendable and punchy performances in the IPL which made the world sit up and take notice. Over the last few IPL seasons, he has been one consistent bright spark for the Royals.

With age on his side and no dearth of talent or confidence, it is just a matter of time until Sanju Samson breaks into the Indian team. Only time will tell if he can do justice to his talent and cement his position as a long-term replacement to Saha.

#4 Robin Uthappa

Uthappa has just scored his 17th Ranji Trophy century

Having originally risen to prominence during the Greg Chappell era, Robin Uthappa was one of the dashing youngsters who had promised to fight fire with fire against the Aussies. A dauntless batsman who has almost every shot in the book, it is his rash shot selection which has let him down on many occasions.

He has been in decent domestic form of late having just scored his 17th century in the Ranji Trophy and jointly holds the record with Rahul Dravid of having the second highest number of centuries from Karnataka in Ranji Trophy cricket. His first-class average of 40.48 bears ample testimony to his batting credentials.

Uthappa has also been one of the most sought-after cricketers in the IPL auctions and now plies his trade for the Kolkata Knight Riders. His ability to play good counter-attacking cricket and score fast runs might be a crucial asset lower down the order. A few more good knocks at the domestic level might open the door for him to make his way back into the Indian team.

#3 CM Gautam

Gautam should have been considered for the Indian team long ago

One of the most technically astute and 'streetsmart' wicket-keeper batsmen in the Indian domestic circuit, it is astounding to think that CM Gautam has not broken into the Indian team yet. The fact that he had originally broken into the Karnataka team as a batsman before he donned the keeper's gloves is ample testimony to his batting skills.

Arunkumar who took over as the coach of the Karnataka Ranji team in the 2012-13 season had enough faith in Gautam to push him up the order. He said, "His concentration levels were always good. I trusted him to get a lot of runs for me, he was very happy with it when we promoted him in the batting order, he was waiting for it. He knew he was now seen as one of the main batsmen in the team, and that he could not take it easy and throw away his wicket."

Promoted to the no. 4 slot, he scored 943 runs that season at an astounding average of 117.87. It was also the highest runs scored by any wicket-keeper batsman in a Ranji Trophy season. If he does well for India A, a berth in the Indian Test team might not be far way.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Can Dinesh Karthik script a famous comeback?

Though Dinesh Karthik has completely fallen out of favour, he might still be the best wicket-keeper batsman that India has got after Dhoni. With a decent batting average of 27.78 in Tests, Karthik is the only wicket-keeper in recent times to have represented India as a pure top order batsman.

He, in fact, scored heavily as an opener for India in the 2007 Test series in England helping India to a famous 1-0 series win. On the back of a great domestic and IPL season, Karthik was recalled to the ODI team for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Karthik duly acknowledged the faith shown in him by scoring two memorable back to back centuries in the two warm-up matches leading to the tournament.

Having been in and out of the team time and again, Karthik has mostly played as a specialist batsman since 2007 and struggled to cement his position as a wicket-keeper batsman because of Dhoni. Now only time will tell if Karthik can script a famous comeback.

#1 Naman Ojha

Ojha was considered to be the front-runner to replace Dhoni

With an average of 43.35 in first-class cricket, Naman Ojha was once considered to be the front-runner to replace Dhoni in Test matches. Ojha has long been around in India's domestic circuit and has shown that he can be a very reliable lower order wicket-keeper batsman.

The highlight of his career has been some of his brilliant performances for India A which include a double hundred and two centuries from four innings in Australia in 2014. Ojha proved his mettle by playing some of the best fast bowlers on fast and bouncy tracks in Australia. His blistering knock of 219 off 250 balls at Brisbane in July 2014 was a treat to watch.

Ojha has also done well in the IPL where he has played some good attacking knocks for the Rajasthan Royals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His grit and counter-attacking play down the order would be an added bonus if he is included in the Indian Test team.