Cricket enthusiasts of Siliguri which bred Team India’s wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha came out with huge applause after his innings (61 not out) in the Kanpur test on Sunday.
“Many cricket pundits had already written his (Saha’s) cricket obituary after his cheap dismissal in the first innings and he could not stand behind the stumps because of pain on the shoulder. But he has proved his critics wrong by playing a match saving 50 plus score in the second innings and braving his pain, standing behind the stumps,” said Jayanta Bhowmik, the childhood coach of Saha.
As the Siliguri boy went to bat at Green Park, the Indian batters were literally struggling against the Kiwi bowlers and had been reduced to 151 for 6.
At that crucial stage of the game, Saha cemented the innings by making a 64-run partnership with Sreyas Iyer in the seventh wicket and made an unbeaten stand with Axar Patel of 67 runs that ultimately guided India to get the lead of 280-odd runs.
“He (Saha) has once again proved that in test cricket, it is the temperament of a batter that always matters,” said Bhowmik.
Young cricketers practise in Siliguri. Passang Yolmo
Saha’s feat has also earned appreciation from budding cricketers of Siliguri, including those who practise at Bhowmik’s coaching centre. Many of them, who idolise their very own “Papali da” (Saha’s nick name) want to follow in his footsteps to join the national squad.
“He is our idol and we want to play like him for the country,” said Yuvraj Saha, one of the students of Bhowmik.
Senior cricketers of Siliguri are equally elated over the performance of Saha who, in recent times, was out of the team.
Manoj Verma, the cricket secretary of the Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad, the subdivisional sports body of Siliguri, said of late, questions were raised about Saha’s performance but he had shown that he still had the capacity and could stand for the team during critical hours.
“We need good infrastructure for cricket here so that more promising players can excel to the highest level of cricket like him,” said Verma.
