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[keep-it-cool]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/wriddhiman-saha-next-bengal-star-ganguly/425575/

Kolkata: So who after Sourav Ganguly from Bengal? Every time this question has been put to him, the southpaw has preferred to stay politically correct. "There are lots of talents in Bengal. With hard work and some luck, they can achieve more than what I have achieved." This used to be Ganguly's standard answer to the question.

At last there's a refreshing change. Perhaps, he has selected the man for the job. After the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Orissa, Ganguly dropped a hint that young stumper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha could be the next big thing from Bengal. "He (Saha) is an outstanding wicketkeeper and a very good batsman. He played well last year. He will mature and play better this year. He is a real India prospect," said the former Indian captain.

Together, they stitched a 136-run partnership for the second wicket at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday to see Bengal through. Saha remained unbeaten on 102, while Ganguly contributed 64.

Saha got the chance to play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy only after Deep Dasgupta signed up with the ICL. The journey that began in November 27 is heading towards the right direction. Saha has made even the likes of John Buchanan and Ricky Ponting sit up and take notice.

A successful stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders followed by an India A call-up has made this frail-looking 25-year-old from Shaktigarh, Burdwan one of the top contenders for the big league. However, the fight is on with Dihesh Karthik and Partiv Patel.

"Sourav is spot on with his observations. He (Saha) is technically the best wicketkeeper in the country at the moment, way ahead of Karthik and Patel, even better than Mahendra Singh Dhoni," said the Bengal chief selector Sambaran Banerjee, who knows a thing or two about wicket-keeping. "I don't think there's a wicketkeeper in the business whose gathering is better," Banerjee elaborates.

The BCCI-appointed selector from East Zone Raja Venkat concurs. "The entire selection committee is very impressed with his 'keeping. Till the last season, he was batting low down the order hampering his prospect in the process. After I took over, I brought this to Bengal team management's notice. He is now opening the innings or playing at No 3 and scoring up the order. He has all the qualities to join the big league," Venkat concluded.


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Worth tracking this guy ...I was very impressed with what I saw during the IPL. It is sad that the team management did not put more faith in this guy up the order and stuck with guys such as Hafeez, Butt & Taibu.

First-class :: 17 matches; Average - 37.16

List A :: 22 matches; Average - 53.7; SR - 73.78 (I am surprised at the low SR - he appears to be quite an attacking player)

T20 :: 16 matches; Average - 23.88; SR - 120.11

[WicketView]

If he is a really good wicketkeeper, as this article suggests, it might make sense to let him concentrate on that rather than push him to open the innings.

KKD was a much better WK when he came to the Indian squad. He was also a gritty batsman. But, he seems to be concentrating on his batting, and his WK has nosedived. He was never a class batsman, and without his WK skills, he will find it hard to make the squad. There is a lesson to be learnt.

[xiexie]

If he is a really good wicketkeeper, as this article suggests, it might make sense to let him concentrate on that rather than push him to open the innings.

KKD was a much better WK when he came to the Indian squad. He was also a gritty batsman. But, he seems to be concentrating on his batting, and his WK has nosedived. He was never a class batsman, and without his WK skills, he will find it hard to make the squad. There is a lesson to be learnt.

KKD was always a mediocre wicket keeper, seemed better than now when he came in. In contrast this kid seemed very good right from the beginning, some of his takes last year to both IS and Shoaib in the one game that I saw were very good.

I think like KIC suggests if he can focus on WK skills more than batting we might have a real find because Dhoni can then play in other roles (including that of a all rounder-remember he can also bowl)

[poondu]

If he is a really good wicketkeeper, as this article suggests, it might make sense to let him concentrate on that rather than push him to open the innings.

KKD was a much better WK when he came to the Indian squad. He was also a gritty batsman. But, he seems to be concentrating on his batting, and his WK has nosedived. He was never a class batsman, and without his WK skills, he will find it hard to make the squad. There is a lesson to be learnt.

KKD was always a mediocre wicket keeper, seemed better than now when he came in. In contrast this kid seemed very good right from the beginning, some of his takes last year to both IS and Shoaib in the one game that I saw were very good.

I think like KIC suggests if he can focus on WK skills more than batting we might have a real find because Dhoni can then play in other roles (including that of a all rounder-remember he can also bowl)

Absolutely not, he was the definitely India's best when he was selected. He lost it when he started opening the batting for India.

[WicketView]

If he is a really good wicketkeeper, as this article suggests, it might make sense to let him concentrate on that rather than push him to open the innings.

KKD was a much better WK when he came to the Indian squad. He was also a gritty batsman. But, he seems to be concentrating on his batting, and his WK has nosedived. He was never a class batsman, and without his WK skills, he will find it hard to make the squad. There is a lesson to be learnt.

KD was always a mediocre wicket keeper, seemed better than now when he came in. In contrast this kid seemed very good right from the beginning, some of his takes last year to both IS and Shoaib in the one game that I saw were very good.

No

I think like KIC suggests if he can focus on WK skills more than batting we might have a real find because Dhoni can then play in other roles (including that of a all rounder-remember he can also bowl)

[keep-it-cool]

KKD was much better earlier. But there is something called as match fitness ...he has hardly played as a wicketkeeper ever since MSD made the team ...he either plays as a batsman or he is in the squad but not in the XI ...has not even been keeping regularly in domestic cricket because he has been in most touring squads ...no wonder his keeping has fallen off somewhat.

I dont think KKD (at his earlier form) or Saha are too different in terms of keeping skills ..however, Saha does appear to me someone who can hit the ball much more cleanly than KKD ...hence, could be an ideal fallback to help relieve MSD of WK duties once in a while where required. I am not sure about his abnility to adpt to the longer format though ..where KKD has already done quite well in international cricket.

It is a tough call ...but worth keeping this guy on the radar.

[ramshorns]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

[WicketView]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

Rams,
How often have you seen that actually been practised? Starting from the time I started watching cricket,  Viswanath was a better WK than Pandit, More at the time he was dropped, though fortunately More went on to become a very good WK.
Similarly, at fairly recent times Patel, Dhoni  got the nod ahead of KKD, even though at that point KKD was a better keeper. This is not limited to India alone ...recall Jack Russell and Alec Stewart?

[dextrous]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

Rams,
How often have you seen that actually been practised? Starting from the time I started watching cricket,  Viswanath was a better WK than Pandit, More at the time he was dropped, though fortunately More went on to become a very good WK.
Similarly, at fairly recent times Patel, Dhoni  got the nod ahead of KKD, even though at that point KKD was a better keeper. This is not limited to India alone ...recall Jack Russell and Alec Stewart?

It is a big myth that KKD was/is a better keeper than Dhoni. KKD, sure, at his best, can catch some diving chances that MSD will not, however, KKD always lacked consistency in catching normal stuff, which Dhoni has. At the time that they came on the scene, most people did not know anything about Dhoni and automatically it was assumed that KKD is better (even though Dhoni's exploits in Pakistan were ongoing) and that assumption seems to have stuck. I think part of it has to do with physique--KKD looks like a keeper, i.e. slender built, short, etc. and Dhoni does not.

[keep-it-cool]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

Rams,
How often have you seen that actually been practised? Starting from the time I started watching cricket,  Viswanath was a better WK than Pandit, More at the time he was dropped, though fortunately More went on to become a very good WK.
Similarly, at fairly recent times Patel, Dhoni  got the nod ahead of KKD, even though at that point KKD was a better keeper. This is not limited to India alone ...recall Jack Russell and Alec Stewart?

It is a big myth that KKD was/is a better keeper than Dhoni. KKD, sure, at his best, can catch some diving chances that MSD will not, however, KKD always lacked consistency in catching normal stuff, which Dhoni has. At the time that they came on the scene, most people did not know anything about Dhoni and automatically it was assumed that KKD is better (even though Dhoni's exploits in Pakistan were ongoing) and that assumption seems to have stuck. I think part of it has to do with physique--KKD looks like a keeper, i.e. slender built, short, etc. and Dhoni does not.

Disagree. KKD was better than Dhoni at one point. Having said that, replacing KKD with Dhoni was a good decision given the other things that MSD brings to the table.

It is to Dhoni's credit that he has improved his keeping skills significantly over the last two years or so. At the same time, KKD's keeping has deteriorated - in my view, because he has not kept regularly over this period - neither in international matches (where he has played as a batsman most times) or in domestic cricket (which he missed a lot of because he was in the national squad as backup keeper / batsman).

[keep-it-cool]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

I think while Saha may be better than MSD (not seen enough to take a firm call), the difference is not big enough for such a dramatic measure. Moreover, MSD does bring a lot of other things to the table ... he is a fantastic captain, is very cool under pressure (Saha is untested as yet) & can hold his own with the bat as well (again, Saha is untested in international cricket).

[xiexie]

Till when this man keep making Wriddhi (progress) he will remain wriddhiman (progressive)

[ramshorns]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

I think while Saha may be better than MSD (not seen enough to take a firm call), the difference is not big enough for such a dramatic measure. Moreover, MSD does bring a lot of other things to the table ... he is a fantastic captain, is very cool under pressure (Saha is untested as yet) & can hold his own with the bat as well (again, Saha is untested in international cricket).

I think we look at this slightly differently.  If and it is a big if mind you if Saha is a better keeper as it may turn out to be than MSD despite all the other things the latter may bring to the table in Test match cricket I am a believer in selecting the best for each position and then and only then assess the other intangibles that come along with it.  Ofcourse these are early days and talks of replacing MSD are obviously premature but I made my point based on a hypothetical scenario of Saha being the best keeper in the country.

[ramshorns]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

Rams,
How often have you seen that actually been practised? Starting from the time I started watching cricket,  Viswanath was a better WK than Pandit, More at the time he was dropped, though fortunately More went on to become a very good WK.
Similarly, at fairly recent times Patel, Dhoni  got the nod ahead of KKD, even though at that point KKD was a better keeper. This is not limited to India alone ...recall Jack Russell and Alec Stewart?

Very true in what you say about the best may not necessarily be donning the gloves at any given point in time. 

[keep-it-cool]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

I think while Saha may be better than MSD (not seen enough to take a firm call), the difference is not big enough for such a dramatic measure. Moreover, MSD does bring a lot of other things to the table ... he is a fantastic captain, is very cool under pressure (Saha is untested as yet) & can hold his own with the bat as well (again, Saha is untested in international cricket).

I think we look at this slightly differently.  If and it is a big if mind you if Saha is a better keeper as it may turn out to be than MSD despite all the other things the latter may bring to the table in Test match cricket I am a believer in selecting the best for each position and then and only then assess the other intangibles that come along with it.  Ofcourse these are early days and talks of replacing MSD are obviously premature but I made my point based on a hypothetical scenario of Saha being the best keeper in the country.

All I am saying is that he needs to be significantly better for that to happen. India still does not have a decent allrounder and hence needs added batting muscle down the order (which Dhoni can bring). Besides, who will be captain? Sehwag? Yuvi?

[WicketView]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

Rams,
How often have you seen that actually been practised? Starting from the time I started watching cricket,  Viswanath was a better WK than Pandit, More at the time he was dropped, though fortunately More went on to become a very good WK.
Similarly, at fairly recent times Patel, Dhoni  got the nod ahead of KKD, even though at that point KKD was a better keeper. This is not limited to India alone ...recall Jack Russell and Alec Stewart?

It is a big myth that KKD was/is a better keeper than Dhoni. KKD, sure, at his best, can catch some diving chances that MSD will not, however, KKD always lacked consistency in catching normal stuff, which Dhoni has. At the time that they came on the scene, most people did not know anything about Dhoni and automatically it was assumed that KKD is better (even though Dhoni's exploits in Pakistan were ongoing) and that assumption seems to have stuck. I think part of it has to do with physique--KKD looks like a keeper, i.e. slender built, short, etc. and Dhoni does not.

Disagree. KKD was better than Dhoni at one point. Having said that, replacing KKD with Dhoni was a good decision given the other things that MSD brings to the table.

It is to Dhoni's credit that he has improved his keeping skills significantly over the last two years or so. At the same time, KKD's keeping has deteriorated - in my view, because he has not kept regularly over this period - neither in international matches (where he has played as a batsman most times) or in domestic cricket (which he missed a lot of because he was in the national squad as backup keeper / batsman).

I agree with KIC on KKD's keeping vs Dhoni ... both in terms of what used to be and what is true now. Further, my guess for the detoriation of KKD's skills would be the same as his. I suppose there is a lesson for WKs trying to edge out others by allround skills.

[WicketView]

If Saha is a better WK than Dhoni then he should be playing the Tests ahead of MSD eventually in that position as we all know Test match cricket is all about specialists and the best person for a position needs to be there.  It is good to see Saha being spoken of so highly and hope he gets his due.

I think while Saha may be better than MSD (not seen enough to take a firm call), the difference is not big enough for such a dramatic measure. Moreover, MSD does bring a lot of other things to the table ... he is a fantastic captain, is very cool under pressure (Saha is untested as yet) & can hold his own with the bat as well (again, Saha is untested in international cricket).

I think we look at this slightly differently.  If and it is a big if mind you if Saha is a better keeper as it may turn out to be than MSD despite all the other things the latter may bring to the table in Test match cricket I am a believer in selecting the best for each position and then and only then assess the other intangibles that come along with it.  Ofcourse these are early days and talks of replacing MSD are obviously premature but I made my point based on a hypothetical scenario of Saha being the best keeper in the country.

I understand the philosophy, and may even want it to be practised, so that we get to see the best. But if you ask the rigourous question of how this will affect the team's chances, the answer is hardly clear cut. It depends on both the difference in levels of the wicket keepers involved, and where they stand on the absolute scale, and is in practice a hard to answer.