India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has recovered from a neck problem and is available for selection for the second and final Test against New Zealand, captain Virat Kohli said on Thursday.
Saha was unable to don the wicketkeeping gloves on the final day of the first Test in Kanpur due to a stiff neck with KS Bharat taking his place behind the stumps during the drawn Test.
"Saha is fit as of now and he has completely recovered from the neck niggle or spasm that he was suffering from," Kohli told reporters before the Wankhede Stadium Test starting Friday.
Kohli himself skipped the three-match Twenty20 series and the opening Test against New Zealand to take a rest.
While Kohli's return will be a welcome boost for India's batting, it will also leave them with a selection headache.
In Kohli's absence, Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer made a dream Test debut with a first-innings 105 followed by a crucial 65 in the second in Kanpur.
Calls have grown to drop either Ajinkya Rahane, who led India in Kanpur, or Cheteshwar Pujara -- both of whom have been short of runs -- to vacate a spot for Kohli and allow Iyer to retain his place.
Unseasonable rain in Mumbai has also meant that both teams have not been able to practise outdoors since Wednesday and the weather conditions could have an impact on the team selection, according to Kohli.
"We will discuss our combination. The change in weather and the change in conditions have to be taken into account," he said, adding that he expected the Wankhede Stadium pitch to have something on offer for batters and bowlers.
"But we also can't assume that the weather will remain the same for the next five days. So we have to have a combination which can adapt to any change."
The captain didn't give any definitive answer about Ajinkya Rahane's place in the side but to a slightly tweaked question how one communicates with players who are dropped, he gave an elaborate reply.
"You have to obviously understand the situation of where the team is placed. You have to understand where individuals stand at certain stages during the course of a long season, so you have to obviously communicate well," Kohli said.
"You have to speak to the individuals and approach them in a way, which explain things to them properly and mostly it's been combination based whenever we have done changes in the past.
"..... and we have explained to individuals and they have understood our mindset behind going in with a certain combination. So it is not a difficult thing to do when there is collective trust and belief in the group that we are working towards the same vision," he said but did not give a direct answer to the query.
The Indian captain termed it a quintessential Mumbai track with a lot of bounce where the batters would get value for their shots if they stay disciplined.
"This is a pitch which demands a lot of discipline, but at the same time, the rewards of the discipline are also much higher in the percentage as compared to some of the other venues, where spin might be dominant and fast bowlers don't come into play.
"But at the Wankhede, that has never been the case. All the fast bowlers, especially in red ball cricket, really enjoy playing on this pitch and even the batsmen love batting here. A great cricketing wicket," he said.
Kohli understands that at times even the best is not enough and Kanpur Test was one such game where he believes that Ajinkya Rahane and his men tried everything.
"I watched the game and I think we tried everything we could as a team," Kohli said when asked if he could have approached the game differently.
"Obviously, everyone has different way of approaching things, probably would have been able to answer that if I was in that situation, but I was not in that situation so, I know that the team tried everything that it could."
Kohli said that due credit should go to Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel for surviving the last hour.
"Sometimes when you are not able to pull off a result, you also have to give credit to the opposition for them to bat out 10-12 overs in the end with the last wicket, was very good effort from them as well, so you have to be realistic about the scenario."
