Stumper Wriddhiman Saha to be part of England tour after testing COVID-19 negative

It has been learned that veteran wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha is set to join Team India for the upcoming tour of England that gets underway on June 18 after having recovered from COVID-19. 

As per reports, Saha has returned negative tests twice during his quarantine period. The Bengal stumper who was representing the 2016 winners Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021  had tested positive for the virus earlier this month and shortly, the 14th edition of the marquee tournament was postponed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Wriddhiman Saha has been named in the 20-man India squad for the World Test Championship and the subsequent five-match Test series against England starting August 4.

India Full Squad For WTC & England Tour: 

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance). 

Team India look to end their ICC title drought

Team India have failed to win an ICC event after the 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy. In fact, they have made it to the semi-finals thrice (World Cup 2015, World T20 2016 & World Cup 2019) and have also made two final appearances (ICC World T20 2014 & ICC Champions Trophy 2017) but could not succeed in going all the way as the Men In Blue ran out of fire & brimstone during crunch games. 

India look to improve their dismal Test record on English soil

Team India's last Test series win on English soil had come way back in 2007 when the Rahul Dravid-led side registered a 1-0 win in the three-match series. The Indian team had a forgettable outing in the 2011 season where they were handed a 0-4 whitewash a couple of months after their memorable World Cup triumph. In 2014, the MS Dhoni-led side did manage a comprehensive win at Lord's but could not capitalise as they went on to suffer a 3-1 defeat in the five-match series.

Four years later (2018), Virat Kohli's spirited team was no match for Joe Root & Co. who registered an emphatic 4-1 win.