India vs Afghanistan: Dinesh Karthik To Replace Injured Wriddhiman Saha For One-Off Test

India will miss the services of wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha during Afghanistan's historic one-off Test against India due to a thumb injury that he suffered during the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Meanwhile, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Dinesh Karthik as Saha's replacement for the one-off Test, starting June 14. "Mr Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the one-off Paytm Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru from the 14th of June, 2018," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement.

"He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series. Saha's recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks," he added.

The 33-year-old suffered the thumb injury while playing for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2 of the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 25 at the Eden Gardens.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr Dinesh Karthik as the replacement for injured Saha," the BCCI statement further read.

Saha did not have the best of IPL this year, scoring just 234 runs in 14 games.

Karthik, on the other hand, had a splendid IPL while leading Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 498 runs in 16 matches to guide KKR to a third-place finish. Karthik will return to the Test side after a hiatus of eight years.

He last played a Test for India back in 2010 against Bangladesh in Chittagong. In 23 Tests he has played so far for India, Karthik has scored 1000 runs with a hundred and seven half-centuries.

(With PTI Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Afghanistan Dinesh Karthik Wriddhiman Saha Cricket