Ever since India's specialist Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha got injured, there have been speculations about his availability for the historic occasion of Afghanistan's maiden Test match against India and also his likely replacement if he ends up actually missing the game.

 Saha recently suffered a thumb injury while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League this season. He is currently under the care of the BCCI medical staff, which is determining the future course of action to see him recover in time.

Now, according to the reports coming in and sources close to the selection committee, it is highly likely that the wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik is going to be the replacement for Wriddhiman Saha.

Dinesh Karthik is in some outstanding form across all formats, with the bat and the glove as well. He has a stellar first class record with over 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds. It is worth noticing that during India's last Test assignment in South Africa, it was Parthiv Patel who came in to do the glovework rest of the series when Saha got injured in the first Test and had to fly back home.

But, selectors feel that Dinesh Karthik is the better wicketkeeper as India looks to be fully prepared for the upcoming tour of England, where India plays five Test matches starting August. Dinesh actually played a key role in India winning the series in England under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, when in 2007 series his scores of 60 at Lord's, 77 at Nottingham and 91 at the Oval while opening the innings with Wasim Jaffer helped India clinch the series 1-0.

India plays Afghanistan from the 14th June at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Banglore.