Rishabh Pant or Wriddhiman Saha? Sanjay Manjrekar picks his wicketkeeper for 1st Test against Australia

Ahead of the upcoming Test series against Australia, the Indian team-management is facing a selection conundrum over the wicketkeeping spot. The choice is between Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant. In recent times, Rishabh Pant has been India’s preferred wicketkeeper in overseas Tests because of his batting ability. However, the youngster has been faring poorly with the bat for the last year or so.

Things started going downhill for him after his poor display during the tour of the West Indies last year. He was dropped from the Test-playing eleven for the entire home season as Saha kept the wickets. And throughout the season, the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri kept praising Saha for his exceptional displays behind the stumps.

But Pant found a place in the playing eleven when India toured New Zealand for the two Tests. But he could not make the opportunity count as he came up with modest knocks of 19, 25, 12, and 4. Prior to that, he had also lost his place in the playing eleven of the ODI and the T20I squads. Recently, he was not a part of India’s limited-overs squads for the series against Australia.

Sanjay Manjrekar reveals his pick

The Indian team management has kept its cards close to its chests as far as Rishabh Pant vs Wriddhiman Saha debate is concerned. The team-management recently sprung a surprise by naming Saha in the playing eleven for the first tour game while Pant was on the bench. Saha made the most of it by scoring an unbeaten fifty in the second innings.

The team-management then sprung another surprise by naming both Pant and Saha in the playing eleven for the ongoing second tour game. But both Pant and Saha failed as they scored 5 and 0 respectively. And as the fans and experts are busy guessing India’s wicketkeeper for the first Test, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed his pick.

When a Twitter user asked about his preference, Manjrekar went for Saha. The former cricketer-turned-commentator reasoned that wicketkeeper should be picked on the basis of their wicketkeeping abilities in Tests as he wrote:

“In Tests always keeping skills first. Drop a Steve Smith early and he gets a 200! So Saha. Also need a better keeper against pace in Australia. Again Saha.”

In Tests always keeping skills first. Drop a Steve Smith early and he gets a 200! So Saha. Also need a better keeper against pace in Australia. Again Saha. https://t.co/R0udBBCr04

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 11, 2020