Wriddhiman Saha gives insights to a wicket-keeper's job

Commonly hailed as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s successor as a wicket-keeper batsman, especially after the recently concluded India Vs Australia Border-Gavaskar series, Bengal’s Wriddhiman Saha is a player the Kings XI Punjab can look up to in a crisis situation. The lanky man can cause a lot of damage with the willow in the shortest form of the game, but wearing the gloves is his main job in all forms of the game.

There is a difference between a wicket-keeper in Tests and a wicket-keeper in T20s; the latter does not require as much physical and technical prowess as much as the former. But anyhow, a keeper always has to be prompt on his feet.

On Monday, the 32-year-old, while speaking to The Hindu, highlighted the responsibilities which come your way as a wicket-keeper.

“You need to take off fast to get to the stumps and collect the throws if you are standing back. Run-out opportunities cannot be missed and the throws do come in fast.”

He spoke about all the aspects a wicket-keeper needs to study and keep in mind.

“You have to see the bowler running in, study the batsman, anticipate what shot he is going to play, follow the fielder moving and be in the right position to collect the throw, things can happen quickly.”

He then pointed out the difference between keeping in Tests and T20s, saying that in the former, conceding a few runs here and there wouldn’t do much harm, but in T20, even a single extra run can mean you could end up on the losing side.

“In Test cricket you can get away by conceding an odd bye but in T20, even a single bye can prove costly at the end. But the basics remain the same, you got to hold your catches, effect stumpings.”

“It’s an aggressive format and you need to put doubts in the batsmen’s mind sometimes, keep him within the crease.”

A wicket-keeper keeping when a spinner is bowling has its own set of demands in the T20 format since the ’keeper, with the batter trying out a variety of shots, can get misguided on occasions.

“The situation you walk in dictates your approach. There are times when you have to consolidate before launching into the bowling. On other occasions, you attack the bowling straight away,” he said.

Also, he is flexible with his batting position and said he wouldn’t mind any position that the captain sends him at.  “He’s pro-active. He keeps telling me ‘be positive,’ he told of captain Glenn Maxwell.

The legendary Adam Gilchrist is Saha’s inspiration. “He was such a good wicket-keeper and could change a game just like that with the bat.”