IND vs SA, 1st Test: Wriddhiman Saha To Keep Wickets, Rishabh Pant Dropped From India XI

Wriddhiman Saha lost his place in Indian test squad due to injury but Rishabh Pant never really earned ‘the spot’

India skipper Virat Kohli confirmed on Tuesday that wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha will keep wickets for India in first Test against Proteas on Wednesday at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. It seems that team management’s patience with Rishabh Pant is over as the news of him been dropped from the Test XI for South Africa comes days after India head coach Ravi Shastri had said he'll back Pant to the hilt. Speaking at the press conference, skipper Kohli also confirmed Rohit Sharma will bat as opener, saying that the team management is no hurry with Rohit and he’ll be given enough time to find his form in the longest format. "We are in no hurry with Rohit Sharma as opener. He will be given time and space to find his rhythm and the way he wants to play at the top," said Kohli.

"Saha was always going to be someone who we would back as a pure keeper in Test cricket and he's done well under pressure situations in the past."

Captain @imVkohli on @Wriddhipops' selection in the #INDvSA Test squad!#TeamIndia #OrangeArmy #RiseWithUspic.twitter.com/qsHiugEhHN — SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) October 1, 2019

Wriddhiman Saha lost his place in test squad due to injury but Rishabh Pant never really earned ‘the spot’. Saha was left out of the Indian side for five months after he underwent a shoulder surgery in June which kept him away from cricketing action. Having completed his rehabilitation programme, Saha turned up for Bengal in Ranji Trophy where he performed brilliantly on the back of which he was picked for India’s away tour vs West Indies but was benched the entire series. Kohli also confirmed that the Indian team will play two spinners in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. Veteran off-spinner Ashwin marks his comeback after missing out on the two-match Test series against Windies.

Playing XI for 1st Test announced: No Kuldeep, No Pant. Virat Kohli (Capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Md Shami. #INDvSA

— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) October 1, 2019