At the time, Saha had indicated that he would not participate in the BCCI white-ball tournaments and would focus on the first-class format in a bid to help Bengal lift the Ranji crown that eluded them in 2019-20, when They were beaten by Saurashtra in the final
Without wanting to dwell on the reasons for his bitter exit, Saha had insisted on “just looking forward”, while expressing his interest in exploring opportunities in the field of coaching in administrative roles.
Saha, who became India’s first-choice wicketkeeper following MS Dhoni’s Test retirement in 2014, last played for India in December 2021, when the then team management, led by Rahul Dravid had told him that India was passing him by.
At the time, while he was arguably India’s best wicketkeeper, the emergence of Rishabh Pant made it more difficult, although Saha continued to play the second-keeper role on many occasions.
On his return to Bengal, Saha was a great mentor to young Abishek Porel, who has stepped up to become a regular across formats for Bengal. The 22-year-old goalkeeper was recently among the four players retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the mega auction.
As for his own IPL career, Saha is unlikely to feature in the auction. So far, Saha has appeared in every edition of the IPL since its inception in 2008, and was most recently with the Gujarat Titans, with whom he won a title in 2022.
Saha also previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, for whom he scored a memorable century in the 2014 final, where they were runners-up.
