“Can never forget his contribution”: Wriddhiman Saha expresses gratitude to Hardik Pandya for reposing faith in him as wicket-keeper batter for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022

Wriddhiman Saha expresses gratitude to Hardik Pandya for handing him ample opportunities to play for Gujarat Titans as the opener.

The Gujarat Titans (GT) tournament run during the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was nothing short of a fairy tale. More so, when not many across Cricketing circles had expected them to even make it through to the playoffs, given the appointment of Hardik Pandya as skipper, who had been out of action since the T20 World Cup last year.

Also, the absence of reputed firepower with the bat down the order, and a specialist T20 format wicket-keeper batter had also made their case weak, at least on paper.

However, while Pandya ended as GT’s highest run-getter in the season, in David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan, they has as many as three players down the order, who finished matches with consummate perfection.

Also, in the wicket-keeping department, Wriddhiman Saha stepped up, with handy contributions right at the top of the batting order alongside Shubman Gill.

Wriddhiman Saha expresses gratitude to Hardik Pandya

After being unsold during the first-half of the mega auction in February, Wriddhiman Saha was roped in by GT at the bidding amount of INR 1.90 Crore on the second day.

However, the Bengal keeper wasn’t part of the playing 11 right away, as Australia’s Matthew Wade was preferred over him initially. However, with Wade making ordinary returns with the bat, it was Hardik Pandya, who had his shoulder around Saha’s to hand him the responsibility to open the innings for the franchise.

“Hardik showed faith in all those players who were released by the different franchises, whom nobody believed in. I was unsold (on day 1 of mega auction), and was not getting chances in the beginning. Then he came and said I need to take the responsibility of an opener. I got my confidence back. He provided me with a stage to prove myself. Can never forget his contribution. I tried my best to repay his faith. In fact, everybody in the team fulfilled their duties, that’s what you need to become a champion side,” Saha told Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika.

The 37-year-old did not disappoint Pandya one bit, as after missing the initial five matches of the season, he amassed a total of 317 runs across 11 innings at an average of 31.70, with the assistance of three half-centuries.