This is the first IPL in 18 seasons that Wriddhiman Saha, one of the finest Indian wicketkeepers ever, is not part of, having hung up his gloves a few months back. While Saha says he is not really missing the action, he has been keeping tabs on major talking points this season, and is particularly concerned by Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant’s batting form.  

A look at Pant’s sequence of scores tells a tale — 0,15, 2, 2, 21, 63, 3, 0, 4 — adding up to 110 from 10 matches with as many as six single-digit scores. Saha, who spent a number of years in the Indian dressing room as a senior and then second wicketkeeper to the effervescent Pant, feels it could be due to a muddled mind that the latter is not being able to bat like his "bindaas" self.  

Opening up to National Herald during an exclusive chat, Saha dropped a significant hint when asked if pressure from franchise owners can create any additional stress — not to speak of the whopping Rs 27 crore price tag which makes Pant the costliest player in IPL history.

‘’In the five franchises that I have played in my career, there have been varying degrees of pressure from the management. If it was zero interference in my last team Gujarat Titans or Chennai Super Kings, it was present in different degrees in Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad.

‘’If the involvement of the management is more than necessary, then it does create an environment of pressure on the captain and senior players. It also depends on how the coaches can control things and how the team is performing. Looking at Pant, I feel he is caught in a dilemma of whether to make a cautious beginning or go all-out, and is making mistakes,’’ said Saha, who took over the Test keeper’s mantle after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s retirement from the longer format, and played 40 Tests.

Like a number of Indian players in the past who have had to live in the shadows of greats — be it a Syed Kirmani to Farokh Engineer or Dilip Doshi to Bishan Bedi — Saha grew used to the waiting game as his career clashed with Dhoni's.

Is it almost a pity to see the great man playing from memory and failing to ignite the old spark in the yellow shirts, not to speak of the ruthless trolls? A cautious Saha says: ‘’Dhoni bhai is still willing, but the question is if the body is permitting. In the past, he used to come out with eight to 10 overs remaining but as we have seen, it’s not the case anymore. There is no doubt that nothing refuels the CSK fans like Dhoni’s presence, but the question that begs to be asked now is whether he is playing for the team or there are some other factors involved.’’

Wriddhiman Saha poses in front his jerseys at CAB felicitation

While the 40-year-old Saha's technique behind the stumps is spoken of in glowing terms, what often goes under the radar is that the self-effacing character has three Test centuries to his credit. Even in the twilight of his career, Saha had worked tirelessly to develop a power game needed for a T20 opener in powerplays — contributing substantially behind his last team’s success as they were champions in 2022 and finalists in 2023.

Saha, who totalled 317 and 371 runs in those two seasons, is also credited with hitting the first-ever century in an IPL final — a blazing 115 off 55 balls for Punjab Kings albeit in a losing cause against KKR. The bowlers in the rival line-up were Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and Piyush Chawla.  

Asked if the Titans, now in third position in the table, can be title contenders, Saha said he was pleased with the Shubman Gill-led team’s approach so far. ‘’It’s difficult to predict but the team seems to be in a similar mindspace to that of the first two years, when the lower order of the batting was not exposed much due to a consistency of the top order. Nobody was expecting much from us ahead of our debut season in 2022 and the team was built largely from players who were not retained, and this allowed us to express ourselves. That spirit seems to have come back again,’’ said Saha, often referred to as 'Superman' for his acrobatic catches.

Wriddhiman Saha on MS DhoniDhoni bhai is still willing, but the question is if the body is permitting. In the past, he used to come out with eight to 10 overs remaining but as we have seen, it’s not the case anymore. There is no doubt that nothing refuels the CSK fans like Dhoni’s presence, but the question that begs to be asked is where he is playing for the team or there are some other factors involved

How did he work to bring his batting up to speed in his Titans days, especially after suffering from a perception that it was not as good as his keeping? ‘’The amount of batting which I did at the nets during my time at GT was something unique for me. We all hit the nets together and did match-specific practice for hours, may be that’s something which helped me in delivering,’’ he said.

Interestingly enough, Saha did not choose to jump on to the IPL bandwagon soon after his retirement as a player even with the 2025 season looming. He had gone on record saying that he had turned down feelers from KKR to be one of their assistant coaches and has now plunged headlong into running his academy on the Kolkata Maidan (in association with Greer Sporting) as well as visiting some district camps to help develop grassroots talent.

Commenting on his current engagement, Saha said: ‘’See, I don’t forget my roots and would like to do provide my expertise for those who may find it difficult to access it. I visit four district towns regularly and when I joined Tripura as a player, that was my plan. This is the only way I can give back something to the game.’’