According to reports by ESPNCricinfo and the Times of India, the 33-year-old has failed to recover fully from the thumb injury he sustained while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this year.
That injury had forced Saha to miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru but there was optimism in the Indian camp that the wicketkeeper would be fit in time for the first Test against England.
That optimism seems to be dwindling now with Saha facing a race against time to get back to full fitness for the first Test which gets underway at Edgbaston on August 1.
The original prognosis of Saha’s injury estimated the 33-year-old to recover by the end of July but that is looking unlikely at the moment.
Should Saha fail to get himself fit in time for the first Test, Dinesh Karthik will get set to don the wicketkeeping gloves at Edgbaston.
Dinesh Karthik could take the gloves for the first Test in Saha’s absence.
Karthik was called up as a standby to Parthiv Patel in the Test series in South Africa earlier this year after Saha had suffered an injury. He has been a part of India’s limited-overs setup in recent times and has moved ahead of Parthiv in the pecking order for Tests as well.
The Test squad for the five-match series against England is expected to be announced soon. An India ‘A’ side comprising the likes of Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane will take on the England Lions, which includes Alastair Cook and Chris Woakes, in an unofficial Test that gets underway on Monday. The selectors are expected to announce the Test squad after taking this game into account.
