Wriddhiman Saha vs Parthiv Patel: Battle of the big gloves

An untimely injury to Saha had opened the door for a dramatic return to the Test fold for Patel, one that the diminutive left-hander has embraced with both arms. He then went on to celebrate his return by leading Gujarat to their first-ever Ranji title. Saha has spent the same time recuperating and watching from the sidelines, and the Irani Trophy will be his first first-class match since the inopportune injury.

And even though the match itself is the final opportunity for all the performers in the domestic season to cap off a good run – a prerequisite to be a part of the match – it will also be a face-off between two wicket-keepers, one trying to ascertain that he’s still the best pick for the job while his stand-in looks to prove that he’s not content with being just that.

If anything it’s Saha who will have to play catch-up. The Rest of India team is otherwise a mix of some familiar names – like Manoj Tiwary, captain Cheteshwar Pujara and Abhinav Mukund — with a few younger faces thrown in there, from chinaman exponent Kuldeep Yadav to Prashant Chopra. Karun Nair, fresh from his triple century in the Chennai Test against England last month, is around too to further burgeon an extremely strong-looking batting line-up.

But it’s the battle within the battle for the ownership of the wicket-keeping gloves in the Indian Test team that promises to be the most intriguing. Patel though chose to underplay it.

“It’s just a game between Gujarat and Rest of India, so we will stick to that. I think it’s not a game between two players. We all know he (Saha) is a very talented player. There is a game to be won and we will be focusing on that,” he said.

“They are a strong side. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of our young players. I have played for Rest (in Irani games), but for the first time will be playing for Gujarat which is something big for all of us,” said the Ranji-winning captain.

India’s much-publicized hectic home Test season is presently on a break with the English having returned for the limited-overs leg of their tour. A solitary Test against Bangladesh and four against Australia are right around the corner, and it’ll be a great opportunity for many names to throw their hat in the ring. After all Irani Trophy performances have always had a lot of value.

So there is a lot of stake for most of the 22 men who’ll be involved in the match over the next five days.

“If we want to be No.1 in the world, we need to have some back-up players. Not just wicketkeepers, but even in other departments. We need players who can come in and perform well,” said Pujara.

Siraj for Thakur

Meanwhile, Hyderabad pacer Mohammed Siraj was a last-minute addition to the Rest of India squad as Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Thakur drove to Pune on Tuesday and was examined by Indian team medical staff before subsequently being ruled out of the game.

Patel said his side has left out top-order batsman Bhargav Merai while pace bowler Mehul Patel fractured his leg in a road accident. Het Patel and Mohit Thadani have been included in the Gujarat squad.