Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha was drafted into the Bengal Ranji side after regular wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta signed up with the Indian Cricket League. He grabbed the chance with both hands, becoming the 15th Bengal player to score a hundred on Ranji debut. Though he managed only one more fifty in the remaining first-class games of the season, he was signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League. He managed 318 runs in five games in the 2009-10 Ranji season and was picked in the squad for the first Test for the home series against South Africa. A last-minute injury to Rohit Sharma handed Saha an unexpected debut in Nagpur - as a batsman.

His second Test appearance - against Australia in Adelaide in January 2012 - was also somewhat accidental, a result of MS Dhoni's suspension due to a slow over rate. In between, Saha played two ODIs against New Zealand, but has mostly been seen as India's reserve wicketkeeper on overseas tours.

Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket after the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne in 2014 opened the doors for Saha, who had long been an understudy, to firm up his position in the team.

Cricinfo staff May 2014