After undergoing a career-threatening surgery of his shoulder in Manchester, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has come back to India. He reckons that his recovery period seems to be more difficult to get through as compared to facing the fast bowlers.
Saha’s right hand was heavily strapped from below the elbow as he returned to Kolkata on Thursday morning after his laberal repair surgery at the Arm Clinic in Manchester. He will begin his rehabilitation at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru after completing a mandatory three-week rest period. Talking about the same, Wriddhiman said, “It’s very difficult. You cannot move the hand and I have to keep it in one position. It’s more difficult than facing pacers. But this is the only way to go forward and make a comeback. I just have to go by it.”
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The flexible Bengal stumper first had an injury during the tour of South Africa, and had returned early to cure his hamstring. During the Indian Premier League (IPL), Saha suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. It was later discovered that the gloveman was also carrying a shoulder injury that ruled him out of the ongoing tour of England.
However, with the rehab expected to last for at least 3 months, Saha’s chances of making a comeback in the tour of Australia seems difficult. He said, “It’s still a long way to go for the Australia tour . Let’s see, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Normally, in 55 per cent cases, this injury does not recur after it’s healed. It all depends [on] the way I recover and how I recover. I don’t want to fasten it and [wish to] take my time. I want to go slow so that this does not aggravate.”
Dinesh Karthik has replaced Saha for the Test series against England with 20-year old Rishabh Pant held as reserve during the ongoing Test series. Saha has played 32 Tests for India so far, scoring 1,164 runs with three centuries. He has taken 75 catches and effected 10 stumpings as well.
