After Rishabh Pant's heroics, Twitter thinks Wriddhiman Saha will never make a comeback

It’s not easy to replace someone like MS Dhoni in the team and at that point in time, the only good replacement they found was Wriddhiman Saha. The likes of Parthiv Patel and Naman Ojha were also tried in that position, but they never clicked properly. The wicket-keeping conundrum has been an issue since then for the Indian side.

However, the Australian tour which kick-started this conundrum for the captain turned out to be the same destination four years later which provided the answer. With Rishabh Pant proving his worth with the bat in England and Australia, it is hard now to see past him for Kohli and the selectors.

Pant smashed a flabbergasting 159 in the fourth Test at the SCG, helping India pile up over 600 runs in their first innings. He became the first Indian keeper to score a century in Tests Down Under and also registered the highest score by an Indian away from home, surpassing MS Dhoni’s 148 in Faisalabad.

Tough road ahead for Saha

Despite being the best keeper right now in India, Wriddhiman Saha has not been a great contributor with the bat. In 32 matches, he has amassed 1,164 runs, but mostly bats at number 7. On various occasions, Virat Kohli sent him in after Ravichandran Ashwin. Although he has a good defensive technique, it’s not enough to fulfill the current demands.

If Pant continues to bat like this, there’s no reason for the selectors to look beyond him as he provides that X-factor which the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher brought to their respective sides in the middle order. The 34-year-old is still recovering from his long injury spell and is expected to come back during the IPL.

Since he is not in the ODI scheme of things, he will get to play the whole season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and will give a good glimpse for the selectors to take a decision on him. As it stands, it is difficult for them to accommodate him in the XI, but he will be in and around the side as the backup.

Here’s what Twitterati had to say:

End of Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha and Parthiv Patel's career.. Rahane's coming soon

— Sreyas Sriram (@Sreyas28) January 4, 2019

Happy Retirement Wriddhiman Saha… You will never be missed 😑#AUSvsIND #AusvInd #rishabpant@RishabPant777 @BCCI @CricketAus

— Ahwan Prusty (@im_ahwan) January 4, 2019

Wriddhiman Saha Ka career toh gaya… Would be very very difficult for him to come back

— CHOTHA BACCHA (@pinku04) January 4, 2019

What must the good WriddhimanSaha be thinking if he’s watching @RishabPant777 bat at #Sydney ?

— Sankarshan Thakur (@SankarshanT) January 4, 2019

Ravichandran #Ashwin might end up like Wriddhiman #Saha if he doesnt concentrate and improving on his batting skills. #jadeja might be equally or less effective than Ashwin with the bowl, but his batting and fielding selects him into the playing 11.#AUSvIND #INDvAUS

— The Boring Employee (@boringemployee) January 4, 2019

Rishabh Pant is a great find. Wriddhiman Saha will be ruing his luck. An injury forced him to the sidelines and Pant has pounced on the opportunity. One man's gain is another man's loss. Life.

— LoneWolf (@santoshvasandi) January 4, 2019

2 worthless debates happening in India currently:#RafaleDebate and #WicketkeeperDebate ( Pant v Saha) 😂😂😂

— SameHere (@SamsEcke) January 4, 2019

#SAHAvsPANT
I would still prefer pant hands down, not only is he 21,he's improving as a WK he's becoming a better batsman, he's already claimed most dismissals in a match & series, Plus SAHA is already 34 pushing 35,no point in investing in him now.@cricketaakash #SPNSports

— Vipin Tiwari (@vipintiwari952) January 4, 2019

Pant has lot to prove, but two sena centuries and 2 home 90s in short career is a good start as a batsman. Pure keeping skills ayithe no comparison..long way to go. Dhoni, nayan mongia, saha were all better keepers from cricket I have seen. I am sure More, kirmani were better too

— WalkingWicket (@WalkingXception) January 4, 2019

One thing is for sure. When Saha is fit, Parthiv Patel's test career may be over coz he may be chosen as a back up keeper to Pant going forward.

— Kartik Jayaraman (@elitecynic) January 4, 2019

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