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Wriddhiman Saha
India skipper Virat Kohli has confirmed that wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha is fit to play the second Test against New Zealand starting on December 3. Saha suffered from neck stiffness in the first Test match in Kanpur and didn't keep for a major part during New Zealand’s first and second innings. KS Bharat replaced him behind the stumps and did a fair job.
Kohli will also be available for selection for the Mumbai Test match. The skipper will likely replace Mayank Agarwal or Ajnikya Rahane in the playing XI. Shreyas Iyer’s sensational debut meant he will in all probability be in the playing XI in the second Test match against New Zealand.
“Saha is fit as of now and he has completely recovered from a stiff neck issue. The combination of the playing XI we have to discuss, keeping in mind the weather conditions in Mumbai. We can’t assume that weather will be like this on all five days of the Test match,” Kohli said in a virtual conference ahead of the second Test in Mumbai.
The Wankhede pitch in Mumbai has managed to grab eyeballs as reports have surfaced that it won’t assist spinners. Kohli will have some tough selection calls to make. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has endured a lean patch in 2021.
He last scored a Test century versus Australia earlier this year. Since that epic knock, Rahane has struggled to notch up any big scores. Opening batter Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara too have not been amongst runs as they would have liked. Kohli said if someone is needed to be dropped then it would be combination-based.
“All the members of the team understand where the team is placed. We always communicate well and if someone needs to be dropped it is combination based. This is not a difficult task when there is collective trust in the team as we prioritize the team first. Discussion always happens in our team in a rounded manner,” Kohli revealed, when asked how hard it is to drop someone like a Rahane or Ravichandran Ashwin.