Wriddhiman Saha will play J.C Mukherjee Trophy before stepping into the Indian Premier League (IPL). The India Test wicket-keeper, who got injured during India's tour of South Africa, has recovered from the upper hamstring tendon injury.

“I was fit quite a few days ago, when I returned to Kolkata. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) had called me again for an assessment (earlier this month), but I was back home within five days. The injury took one month to heal but there were stages of recovery. I am leaving for the camp on March 30,” Saha told Sportstar on Friday.

The 33-year-old has played few matches for his employers, CESC after getting hints of recovery. “Those matches helped me get back to the groove.”

Saha will have Shreevats Goswami as his competitor for the wicket-keeping role in Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. “That decision isn’t ours. We will have to do what suits the team best. See, ultimately it is cricket, whether I play only as a batsman or a wicketkeeper-batsman. All plans will be clear at the camp, I will do what the team decides,” he added.

Saha also feels Dinesh Karthik’s thundering knock at the Nidahas Trophy final will be a benchmark for cricketers in the IPL. “It was tough for him as he hadn’t played many balls before. But he started to play his strokes from the first ball he faced. He was confident from the outset. You got to give it to him as all those shots, four or six, were clean hits. His message ‘when it is needed, I can still deliver’ was clear; having that confidence is a must. It will inspire us to perform better in the IPL,” he said.