Saha ruled out of Afghan Test, Karthik to replace him

New Delhi: India’s wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha was today ruled out of the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan after failing to recover from the thumb injury he suffered in this year’s Indian Premier League.

The BCCI today named Dinesh Karthik as Saha’s replacement for Afghanistan’s debut Test match to be held in Bengaluru starting June 14. 

“Mr Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the one-off Paytm Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru from the 14th of June, 2018,” BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement. 

“He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series. Saha’s recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks,” he added.

The 33-year-old stumper suffered the injury to his right thumb while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 25 at the Eden Gardens. 

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr Dinesh Karthik as the replacement for injured Saha,” the BCCI statement further read. Saha did not have the best of IPL this year, scoring just 234 runs in 14 games. 

Karthik, on the other hand, had a splendid IPL while leading Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored a mammoth 498 runs in 16 matches to guide KKR to a third-place finish.

Karthik will return to the Test side after a hiatus of eight years. He last played a Test for India way back in 2010 against Bangladesh in Chittagong. 

In 23 Tests he has played so far for India, Karthik has scored 1000 runs with a hundred and seven half-centuries.