India in South Africa: Wriddhiman Saha ruled out of third Test
Wriddhiman Saha ruled out of third Test vs South Africa.
In Short
- Saha effected a record 10 dismissals in the Cape Town Test
- Saha missed the ongoing Test due to a hamstring injury
- Karthik last played a Test match for India in 2010
India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the third and final Test against South Africa with a hamstring injury.
Saha was replaced by Parthiv Patel in the playing XI in the ongoing second Test at Centurion.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday that Dinesh Karthik has been called in to replace Saha in the squad for the remainder of the series.
Karthik is making a comeback into the Test side after a gap of 8 years. He last played a Test match for India in 2010 against Bangladesh at Chittagong.
NEWS: Dinesh Karthik to replace injured Wriddhiman Saha. He is set to join the team before the third Test.
More details here - https://t.co/22TiSsJxeo #FreedomSeries #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/v3glKaJ0BS — BCCI (@BCCI) January 16, 2018
Saha played in the first Test at Cape Town where he scored just 8 runs in the second innings after being dismissed for a duck in the first.
But the 33-year-old Bengal stalwart was outstanding behind the stumps in that match effecting 10 dismissals which is a record for an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test match.
Saha took five catches in the first innings to result in the dismissals of Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada in the first innings.
In their second essay, South Africa were blown away for 130 as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami shared three wickets apiece. But Saha was again in his elements, taking five catches to dismiss Elgar, du Plessis, de Kock, Keshav Maharaj and Morne Morkel.
The record was previously held by Dhoni who had nine dismissals to his name in Australia during his last Test series in 2014.
Saha, a gutsy batsman and an extremely competent wicketkeeper, had to wait for years to earn his place in the Test team. However, he justified the selectors' faith when they turned to him after Dhoni's shock decision to retire from red-ball cricket a little over three years ago.
A complete team-man, Saha is effective standing up to the spinners and has taken some sensational catches off the pacers too.
The third and final Test will be played at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg from January 24.