New Delhi:
India vs South Africa, 1st Test: Wriddhiman Saha will return to international cricket action after 22 months as India decided to drop Rishabh Pant for the first Test match against South Africa at Visakhapatnam. India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday confirmed that Saha will keep wickets for India ahead of Pant. 21-year-old Rishabh Pant had failed to impress in recent matches scoring just 58 runs in the two-Test series against the West Indies. He has also failed to play any big knocks in the limited-overs matches. Pant has so far played 11 Tests, scoring 754 runs at an average of 44.4.
While Saha has scored 1164 runs from 32 Tests at an average of only 30.6, the 34-year-old is considered a safer choice behind the wickets. He also has shown decent form with the bat scoring two 60s against West Indies A prior to being left out of the XI for the Tests. He scored 60 against South Africa A in Mysore recently.
Virat Kohli also confirmed that India are set to go into the game with two spinners in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. Rohit Sharma is set to play as an opener.
"We are in no hurry with Rohit Sharma as opener. He will be given time and space to find his rhythm and the way he wants to play at the top," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference.
