Karthik replaces Saha for Afghanistan Test

India's Test specialist wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha was on Saturday ruled out of the historic one-off Test match against Afghanistan after failing to recover from the thumb injury which he suffered during this year's Indian Premier League's campaign.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday named Dinesh Karthik as Saha's replacement for Afghanistan's debut Test match which will be held in Bengaluru from June 14.

"Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the one-off Paytm Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru from the 14th of June, 2018," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in an official statement.

"He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series. Saha's recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks," he added.

The 33-year-old Bengal cricketer suffered the injury to his right thumb while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 25 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Dinesh Karthik as the replacement for injured Saha," the BCCI statement further read.

Indian Test stumper Saha did not have the best of IPL this year, managing just 234 runs from 14 games.

Karthik, on the other hand, had a splendid IPL season while leading Kolkata Knight Riders. The Tamil Nadu batsman scored a massive 498 runs in 16 matches to guide KKR to a third-place finish.

The 33-year old Karthik will return to the Test side after a big gap of eight years.

He last played a Test for India way back in 2010 against Bangladesh in Chittagong after Dhoni was forced to withdraw due to an injury. He made a duck in the first innings and then made 27 in the second.

Earlier this year he travelled to South Africa for the Third Test to replace injured wicket-keeper Saha. But substitute Parthiv Patel was included in the side before he injured his right index finger prompting Karthik to keep wickets starting day four of the Test.

He was subsequently included in the squad for the limited overs fixtures but did not make the playing eleven, except the final T20I when he made a six-ball 13. He was again named in the squad for the Nidahas Trophy in March after team regular and wicket-keeper Dhoni was rested.

He played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 29 off 8 balls in the final of the tournament against Bangladesh. Coming in to bat when India required 34 runs off the last two overs, Karthik's assault, that included a six when requiring five runs off the last ball, won the match, and the tournament, for his team.

In 23 Tests he has played so far for India, Karthik has scored 1000 runs at an average of 27.77 with one hundred and seven half-centuries.

His only Test hundred came against Bangladesh in 2008 at Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka, where he scored 129 runs after opening the innings.

Apart from his batting statistics, he has taken 51 catches and five stumping as a Test wicket-keeper for India.