New Delhi: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha retired from all forms of cricket on Saturday. Saha, who was considered a Bengal stalwart, took to social media handle X to announce his decision to quit from the game. The Indian cricketer made the announcement after playing the last group-stage match of the Ranji Trophy on February 1.
Saha, who was not only a domestic stalwart but also one of the best wicketkeepers of the Indian team, wrote an emotional note where he thanked his family, all the teams he played for and the staff that helped him on the field all these years. Saha, in his long note, wrote that he was grateful for his 28-year-long career and said that it was the greatest honour of his life to represent his country, state, district, clubs, university, college, and school.
Thank You, Cricket. Thank You everyone. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/eSKyGQht4R
— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) February 1, 2025
One of the best keeper in red-ball format for India
Wriddhiman Saha played a total for 40 Test matches and was considered the best wicketkeeper for India in the red-ball format. Saha scored 1353 runs, including three hundreds, at an average of 29.41. As a keeper, he also took took 92 catches and effected 12 stumpings. He featured in nine ODIs as well. Overall, he scored 7169 runs, including 14 centuries in 142 first class matches over 17 years.
The reason behind his career not getting a proper lift was that he did not possess great batting abilities which restricted his role to a wicketkeeper in the team. People like MS Dhoni, who took off at almost the same time due to his equal ability with bat and behind the stumps, somewhere surpassed him in the selection books for Team India.
After Dhoni’s retirement, Saha got a place in the Indian team for a while but the management decided to groom Rishabh Pant instead as he possessed better abilities than Saha. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the biggest moments of his life came when he smashed a century in the IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 season.
Despite his majestic ton, his franchise Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) could not win the edition. In his last years in the cash-rich league, Saha played for Gujarat Titans, under the captaincy of all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the biggest moments of Wriddhiman Saha’s career came when he smashed a century in the IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 season. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
