Wriddhiman Saha, Cheteshwar Pujara set to boost their sides in Ranji Trophy final

Wriddhiman Saha is likely to play the Ranji Trophy final for Bengal in place of opener Abhishek Raman who is struggling for runs. After convincingly beating Karnataka in the semi-Final, the Bengal side will face Saurashtra in the final starting from March 13. Although the batting performance from Bengal seemed above par which included Anustup Majumdar’s unbeaten 149 in the first innings, their opener Abhishek hasn’t gotten enough runs to hold his spot for the final of the tournament.

India’s wicketkeeper Saha recovered from his recent surgery on his right ring finger which he had sustained during the iconic Day/Night Eden Test against Bangladesh. After recovering from his injury, the BCCI had asked Saha not to join the Bengal team ahead of their game against Delhi as he was asked to remain fit for the India tour New Zealand. However, Saha didn’t get to play any game in New Zealand with the team preferring Rishabh Pant as the wicket-keeper batsman.

Saha has shined for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy

Saha last played for Bengal in the 2017-18 Ranji season where he averaged 38.33 in four matches. He is a valuable asset to the Bengal side as he brings loads of experience and talent into the team. They will certainly need his efforts to cross the line and to win their third Ranji title.

There has been a lot of debate as to who is the next finer wicketkeeper-batsman to play for India after MS Dhoni. Wriddhiman Saha is definitely one of the best we have seen in the longer format of the game. The 35-year-old keeps the wickets extremely well and adds stability down the batting order.

The Bengal State selectors also named uncapped batsman Sudip Gharami with injured Koushik Ghosh and youngster Golam Mustafa being the only two omissions from the 16-member squad, which beat Karnataka in the semi-final.

Apart from Saha, Saurashtra’s side will be bolstered by the inclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara in their ranks. However, the availability of Saurashtra’s another stalwart Ravindra Jadeja still remains unclear.  “Cheteshwar will be back for sure, Ravindra I am not sure,” skipper Jaydev Unadkat, the flagbearer in Saurashtra’s semi-final win over Gujarat, said.