Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, after living in the shadow of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for four years, finally got a chance to establish his credentials in the national team on India's recent Test tour of Australia when the skipper announced his retirement from Test cricket in Melbourne.

Dhoni's decision surprised all, including Saha, who said the Indian team had no clue about it. "Dhoni's announcement surprised us all. He will be missed no doubt but it's a team game and only XI can play. We have to keep playing in the same manner," Saha said after hitting an unbeaten 129 for Bengal against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy match at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

Saha, however, is well aware of the fact that cementing his place in the national side will not be an easy job. "Playing international cricket is a big responsibility. People will breathe down your neck. You've to rise to the challenge," he said.

Saha did not particularly shine with the bat in Australia, making 73 runs at 18.25 in four innings in Adelaide and Sydney the first and the last Tests. His inexperience came to fore when he got out for 13 while stepping out to Nathan Lyon with India just 65 runs shy of victory at the Adelaide Oval. "We were told to go after the bowling in the team meeting and we wanted to score freely but unfortunately I got out," Saha said while trying to explain his shot selection.

Despite losing the series 2-0, Saha believes India played well this time. "The 2-0 loss notwithstanding, we played well in Australia. There was a lot of positive energy on and off the field. This helped us all grow as cricketers," he stated.

The series had been a learning experience for Saha too. During his nearly two-month stay in Australia, Saha had many one-on-one sessions with coach Duncan Fletcher who made a few technical adjustments to his stance, advising him to open up a bit. "A slightly wider stance is helping me move my feet more freely. The challenge now is to keep performing consistently," Saha said.

The 30-year-old heaped praise on India's new Test captain Virat Kohli, saying that the team was all fired up under the Delhi batsman. "He always tries to liven up the atmosphere. I know him (Kohli) since his U-19 days. He always plays an aggressive brand of cricket and spreads that feeling in the dressing room too. If we can translate that into performance and play session by session, we'll definitely do well in the coming days," Saha hoped.