Saha ruled out for Afghan Test, Karthik to replace him
India's wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha was today ruled out of the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan after failing to recover from the thumb injury he suffered in this year's IPL. The BCCI today named Dinesh Karthik as Saha's replacement for Afghanistan's debut Test match to be held in Bengaluru starting June 14. Karthik will return to the Test side after a hiatus of eight years.
Wriddhiman Saha suffered the injury while playing IPL Qualifier 2
Saha, the 33-year-old stumper, suffered the injury to his right thumb while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 25 at the Eden Gardens.
Saha's recovery period is expected to be around six weeks
"Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the one-off Paytm Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru from the 14th of June, 2018," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement. "He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series," he added.
Saha did not have the best of IPL this year
Saha scored just 234 runs in 14 games. While Karthik had a splendid IPL. Kartik scored a mammoth 498 runs in 16 matches to guide KKR to a third-place finish. Karthik last played a Test for India way back in 2010 against Bangladesh. In 23 Tests he played so far for India, Karthik has scored 1,000 runs with a hundred and seven half-centuries.
