Published: Aug 13, 2017, 02:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 13, 2017, 02:13 PM (IST)
Rewind to the 1985 World Championship of cricket. Sunil Gavaskar’s India emerged triumphant, proving that the 1983 World Cup win was no fluke. One of the heroes of the tournament was a young Sadanand Vishwanath, who stole the show with his flamboyant wicketkeeping. The Karnataka gloveman’s international career was limited to 3 Tests and 22 ODIs, but he remains as one of the important figures in the cricket circuit. Talking of wicketkeepers, Vishwanath is bowled over by Wriddhiman Saha, who is hailed by many pundits as the best wicketkeeper in the world. Wriddhiman Saha: Enjoy keeping wickets on turning tracks
“I first watched him many years ago playing for Bengal in a game at Indore where I was umpiring. I was impressed by his silken touch and his safe pair of hands. His footwork has improved and what stands out now is his keeping to the spinners,” said Vishwanath in an interview with mid-day. However, the former Karnataka cricketer warned that Saha has big boots of fill and that of MS Dhoni, but the Bengal stumper has done well to fit into the role of a fine all-rounder. “I’m a Wriddhiman fan. I have been seeing him from his early days in domestic cricket and have umpired in games that featured him. He has got the geometry of wicketkeeping right. He is getting up with the ball and is timing his gathering very well. The long home season surely helped. Nothing like confidence, nothing like continuity, nothing like an extended stretch.”
Saha is one of the rare cricketers to win Man of the Match award for exceptional wicketkeeping . Even in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, he was one of the contenders for the award for his steady half-century and exceptional glove work behind the stumps.
