Wriddhiman Saha says there's no rivalry with Rishabh Pant, wants to focus solely on Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Wicket-keeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha is busy gearing up for his return to competitive cricket after spending more than eight months on the sidelines due to injury. Saha will be representing Bengal in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament, his first appearance in a major event since he featured in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second qualifier of the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). [caption id=“attachment_4795551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Wriddhiman Saha. AFP[/caption] He has since undergone a shoulder surgery, which has been followed by a lengthy period of rehabilitation. Saha has a lot of work to do if he’s to make his way back to the Indian team, thanks to Rishabh Pant’s marked rise in the Test arena after the tours of England and Australia. Pant made the most of the Bengal stumper’s absence, having scored a century at the Oval in his debut series while producing a much better performance with the gloves during India’s historic Test series win over Australia. However, Saha maintained that he doesn’t see Pant, who is tipped by many as veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni’s heir, as a competition. “Rishabh got his chance when I was out and just like anyone would look to grab their chance with both hands he did the same. I don’t look at him as my competition, in fact when he came to the NCA we spent a lot of time together which was nice. “We hardly spoke about performances and selection,” said Saha in an interview on CricketNext . The Siliguri native added that his sole focus at the moment is “helping Bengal do well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.” The Mushtaq Ali event will also witness the return of  Mumbai batsman Prithvi Shaw , who had suffered an ankle injury just before the Adelaide Test that resulted in the young batsman missing out the remainder of the Australia tour.