Wriddhiman Saha had planned to retire from cricket when he went to the Eden Gardens in June. However, after a meeting to resolve issues with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) which had caused his move to Tripura for two seasons, Saha changed his mind. The key reason was Sourav Ganguly. The former India captain convinced Saha to stay and finish his career with Bengal. Despite dealing with multiple injuries, Saha decided to continue playing with the help of the team’s physio.
“You can say it was because of emotional attachment,” he said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“I wasn’t going to play this year but Sourav Ganguly and my wife pushed me to play and finish with Bengal after two seasons with Tripura,” he added.
Saha agreed to play but clarified he wouldn’t be available for the white-ball segment of the domestic season, knowing he couldn’t handle the full season’s demands. He also wanted to give others a chance, having already informed Gujarat Titans he wouldn’t participate in the IPL anymore.
One of the beneficiaries of Saha’s move to Tripura has been Abishek Porel, who has excelled in Saha’s absence and earned retention by Delhi Capitals. As a mentor to young wicketkeepers, Saha finds this gratifying.
“I’ve been pushing myself for the last year. But because of my body condition and injuries, I won’t be able to play for the full season,” he noted, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“That’s why I chose the most vital format – Ranji Trophy. It will be tough [to carry on] but I will play and hopefully, we qualify. If we do, I will play till the end of the season, else I’ll finish off at Eden Gardens,” he added.
“I was already prepared that I won’t play this year but when my wife and Sourav Ganguly pushed me, I couldn’t refuse,” Saha said.
Still regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers in India and possibly the world, Saha is content with his career. Despite overlapping with MS Dhoni and later Rishabh Pant, he does not consider himself unlucky.
“There are so many of them who didn’t play despite toiling so hard. Amol Muzumdar, Padmakar Shivalkar sir. I feel fortunate and proud to have played 40 Tests for India,” he said.
Saha finished his Test career with 1353 runs in 56 innings, averaging 29.41, with three centuries and six half-centuries. His standout moment was scoring unbeaten half-centuries in both innings to help India defeat New Zealand in 2016. While he feels he maybe could’ve done more with the bat, Saha emphasizes that his priority was always wicketkeeping.
“When I started, I was a wicketkeeper. I knew I could never be as good as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli,” Saha said.
“I wanted to earn a name in what I did from childhood – that’s why I put more emphasis on wicketkeeping,” he added.
Having learnt from Kiran More, Saba Karim, and Deep Dasgupta, and having had chats with Dhoni, and interactions with Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy, Saha has always aimed to be his best. Now, he enjoys mentoring young keepers.
“I’ve spoken to keepers from the women’s team, we keep talking to each other,” he said.
“Last IPL, Dhruv Jurel spoke to me. Rishabh [Pant] has done it all along when we played together. The understanding was good, he used to share his experiences, and I used to give him as much input as possible,” he noted, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Reflecting on his career, Saha is pleased he continued playing for three more years despite being told in late 2021 by then-coach Rahul Dravid that the Indian team was moving on from him.
“That door got closed, but I knew domestic, and IPL was still there,” he said.
“It wasn’t like I got demoralised because of that. I’ve played now for three years since that. Why did I start playing? Because I like it. Last year, I’d stopped liking the game and planned to leave. After this season, I’m moving on,” he added.
“Hopefully we can make the final. If not, I’ll finish off at Eden Gardens,” he concluded.
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