KOLKATA: Selection was never at the back of his mind as wicketkeeper-batsman
Wriddhiman Saha took the field for Bengal against Tripura in the inter-zonal Twenty20 match at the
Eden Gardens
on Tuesday.
But at the end of the day he went home doubly happy. Bengal managed to beat Tripura by five runs, but more importantly, the selectors reposed faith in him by bringing him back in India's squad for the Bangladesh Test.
Saha was sidelined with a finger injury during the second Test against England at Vizag. In his absence, Gujarat captain
Parthiv Patel did a reasonably good job in the three Tests against England, putting Saha under some pressure.
But the 32-year-old denied that he was tense before the selection meeting. "I was not tense. I don't really expect anything and take things as they come," he stated after being picked up as the sole glovesman in the 16-man squad.
"My job will now be to live up to the faith that the selectors have shown in me," he added. Although regarded as the best wicketkeeper in the country, it was Saha's batting that came under scrutiny. But he made his case stronger with a brilliant double hundred to help
Rest of India
beat Gujarat in the
Irani Cup
recently.
Saha was part of the Test squad that played the one-off Test match against Bangladesh in June 2015. Asked about the Bangladesh team, he said, "They have done well against us in the past in the shorter format. But going by our recent form, I feel India will be favourites against any team at home."
Although he will be going into the Test match days after playing the T20 format, Saha felt that will not hamper his preparation for the match. "Nowadays we are used to hopping from one format to the other. What is important is getting some useful match practice," Saha added.
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