There are many things Wriddhiman Saha is not.

He is not garrulous, he is not fla

shy, he is not boisterous, not prone to over-the-top celebration. But there are
some things that he is. Eye-catching, for a start; in the manner a proper wicket
keeper should be.
In Kolkata, when the ball seemed to have a mind of its own, he seemed to read it
. It was as if a boorish cricket ball was getting a touch coy as it neared his g
loves. Most wicketkeepers are like drummers in a band, Saha seems like he is the
violinist in the orchestra.
It is interesting that he should be eye-catching thus because increasingly a wic
ketkeeper tends to be recognised by the runs he scores. The argument about picki
ng the best man behind the stumps has long been lost in favour of selecting the
man who delivers in front of the wicket and who can double up behind it.
This is not to say that Saha can't bat. It would be a silly thing to say after a
Test match in which he produced two gritty and critical fifties. Or indeed, giv
en that he has a century in an IPL final. But Saha is a keeper first and by goin
g to him, India's selectors have gone against the tide a bit. And by doing so th
ey have ensured that the bowlers, the spinners especially, have the best man sta
nding up to them.
I must confess I don't know Saha well enough, but I got the impression he was a
little uncertain early on. Maybe, years of living with the knowledge that till M
S Dhoni was around he had no chance, had a bit to do with it. Maybe too, the fee
ling that since he was replacing Dhoni, he needed to score enough runs. It told
on his batting average, lower than it should have been, and occasionally on his
keeping where his standards were expected to be high.
I believe interchanging positions with R Ashwin has helped both and with the pre
ssure of contributing runs marginally diminished, Saha has flowered. It helps th
at on either side of him are people who can bat and with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar look
ing like he will hold his space for a while, even No. 10 can be relied upon to h
old an end up. In fact, do more. It is a very happy batting position for him.
I wonder if that has contributed to a greater degree of certainty behind the stu
mps. Sometimes, and we can all relate to that, when you feel good about yourself
, you raise your performance all around. Saha in Kolkata was one of the cleanest
acts behind the stumps.
I like the fact that he merges so easily into the team. Like a pinch of sugar. I
sense he enjoys being the support cast rather than the box-office star but as s
port constantly reminds us, you don't get stars without the support cast. He tur
ns 32 soon and if he can stay fit, he can give himself, and India, three or four
more years. And maybe, add a couple more Man of the Match awards too!