ENG vs IND: Dinesh Karthik likely replacement as Wriddhiman Saha expected to be out longer

As the Indians prepare for what is certainly expected to be an arduous Test series against a strong England side, there seems to be a bit of trouble and injury headache brewing within the ranks of the visitors. In their Test match against the Afghans, an injured Wriddhiman Saha watched as his adversary and direct rivaling competitor Dinesh Karthik filled the wicketkeeping spot with considerable ease.

Of course, Dinesh Karthik has seen somewhat of a resurgence in his cricketing career after being named as the skipper of the IPL side – the Kolkata Knight Riders and now is also viewed by many as a good batting option across all three formats. With the incumbent custodian MS Dhoni not getting any younger, the Indian selection committee is beginning to look into and groom new talent to step into his shoes.

At the moment, Karthik is seemingly the favourite to take over the gloves from MSD and make it big when it comes to playing cricket following the conclusion of the World Cup.

Karthik favoured ahead of Parthiv

On India’s previous tour of South Africa, skipper Virat Kohli had persisted with Parthiv Patel when Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out with an injury. From 32 Tests, Saha has a career haul of 75 catches and 10 stumpings. He has also scored 1,164 runs at 30.63, with 3 hundreds and 5 fifties.

However, Karthik impressed quite a bit against Afghanistan and is expected to be selected ahead of Parthiv Patel, especially after the latter dropped quite a few catches as well as not making an impact with the bat.

Karthik impressed quite a bit in the Nidahas Trophy, a tournament which saw him single-handedly take the Indians to victory in the final against Bangaldesh, something that has cemented his place in the fringes at least for now.

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