Ranji Trophy: Wriddhiman Saha receives guard of honour in his farewell match for Bengal (WATCH)
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha announced his decision to retire from the sport in the middle of the ongoing Ranji Trophy in November last year.
FollowFormer India wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha received a guard of honour from his Bengal teammates ahead of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy match against Punjab at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Friday, January 31.
Wriddhiman Saha set to retire from his professional cricketing career after Bengal’s final group stage match against Punjab at his home ground. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter announced his decision to retire from the sport in the middle of the ongoing Ranji Trophy in November last year. Saha returned to play for his home state team Bengal in his final Ranji Trophy season. In the last season of Indian domestic cricket, Wriddhiman Saha was playing for Tripura.
Wriddhiman Saha took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “After a cherished journey in cricket, this season will be my last. I’m honoured to represent Bengal one final time, playing only in the Ranji Trophy before I retire. Let’s make this season one to remember!”
Wriddhiman Saha received an emotional guard of honour from Bengal teammates while strolling out to the field for the wicketkeeping duties in the second innings of Punjab’s batting on Day 2. Veteran cricketer also received a bouquet of flowers from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Snehasish Ganguly. The video of the emotional moment was posted by BCCI Domestic on its X handle (formerly Twitter).
Wriddhiman Saha has been the stalwart of Bengal Cricket over the last 18 years of his cricket career. The 40-year-old made his first-class debut for Bengal in 2006-07 Ranji Trophy and went on to become one of the crucial players for the state team. He was part of the Bengal team that ended up as Ranji Trophy runners-up in 2007, 2020, and 2023. He also played a pivotal role in helping Bengal clinch their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title in 2011.
Wriddhiman Saha represented Team India in Test Cricket. He played for the national team in 40 Tests and aggregated 1353 runs, including 3 centuries and six fifties, at an average of 29.41. He was a second-choice wicketkeeper for Team India in the longest format of the game since 2011. His last appearance for India in Test Cricket was in the second Test of the two-match series against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2021. He was also part of the India squad that were runners-up in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final after losing to New Zealand in 2021.
In first-class cricket, Wriddhiman Saha has amassed 7169 runs, including 14 centuries and 44 fifties, at an average of 41.68 in 209 innings. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Saha was not up to his mark as he aggregated 156 runs in seven innings. With Bengal’s chances of entering the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy is slim, Wriddhiman Saha will be bidding adieu to his cricketing career after the group stage match against Punjab
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