Wriddhiman Saha wants to play domestic cricket and IPL even after India snub

Wriddhiman Saha, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter, has stated that he does not want to retire anytime soon after being dropped from the Indian Test squad. After MS Dhoni retired from Test matches, the 37-year-old became the first-choice keeper for the country, but the emergence of Rishabh Pant has eluded him a permanent place in the Test setup.

Pant took over Saha's place in the team after injury concerns and poor form, and it was clear that his career with the Indian team was coming to an end. However, with his place in the national team in doubt, the Bengal cricketer appears to have devised a backup plan.

Although he is no longer part of the Indian Red-Ball setup, Saha has made it clear that he wants to continue playing domestic cricket and the IPL. Saha is a key member of the Gujarat Titans (GT) side, who won their first IPL title in 2022.

"Since it has been officially made clear by the Indian team management that I won't get picked, my main focus will be on domestic cricket – if and when I play – and then, of course, IPL," Saha told Sportskeeda. 

"No, no. It is difficult to devote time to the family, so I just want to spend some quality time with them now," he said while dismissing the possibility of him playing County cricket.

The Gujarat Titans bought the wicket-keeper batter for INR 1.9 crore at the IPL mega auction. He opened the innings for GT, scoring 317 runs in 11 matches, including three half-centuries. From going unsold on Day 1 to becoming an IPL champion, Saha hailed Hardik for believing in him and praised him for his outstanding leadership skills during his first term as captain of an IPL franchise.

"Whenever you are captain, how the responsibility of the team and the hunger to contribute increase, he has shown exactly that. He was batting at No. 6 or No. 7 in the Mumbai Indians (MI), getting just three-four overs at most, and hence had to start playing shots immediately after coming in.

But coming here, he had to change his game for batting at No. 4 and ended up scoring almost 500 runs. Add to that his bowling. So, it wasn't an easy task at all," he concluded.

The Gujarat Titans opener played his last Test match against New Zealand in a home Test series in late 2021 and scored a match-saving 61 in the Kanpur Test. A comeback for Saha is quite doubtful, given that Rishabh Pant is India's first-choice wicket-keeper and KS Bharat is the second-choice.