Karthik to replace injured Saha for Afghanistan Test
NEW DELHI: Wriddhiman Saha will miss the historic one-off Afghanistan Test after failing to recover from a thumb injury he sustained during the second qualifier of Indian Premier League 2018.
BCCI has named Dinesh Karthik as his replacement who last played a Test for India back in 2010.
In a statement on Saturday, BCCI confirmed that it will take five to six weeks for the 33-year-old Saha to recover. “Mr. 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. Saha suffered an injury to his right thumb while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the VIVO IPL Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders on 25th May, 2018 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata,” BCCI said in a press release posted on its official website.
The board wants to give Saha ample time to regain full fitness ahead of India’s five-Test series that starts from August. “He [Saha] 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. Saha’s recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks,” it said.
Karthik made his Test debut against Australia in 2004 but failed to cement a permanent spot in the longest format. He has so far played 23 Tests, scoring 1000 runs with one century and seven fifties. Apart from that, he has 51 catches and five stumpings to his name.
