Wriddhiman Saha said Dravid had asked him to think of retirement while Ganguly guaranteed him a spot in the Indian Test team
Following Wriddhiman Saha’s outburst targeting BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and head coach Rahul Dravid after being dropped from the Test squad for Sri Lanka series, the Board might seek an explanation from the veteran wicketkeeper as it feels he violated the protocols for centrally-contracted cricketers. (More Cricket News)
According to clause 6.3, no player is entitled to make any comments about the game, officials, incidents that happened in selection and other matter related to the sport. Saha, who is in group B of central contracts with an annual retainership of Rs 3 crore, may have violated the clause.
“Player shall not make any comments about the game, officials, incidents that happened in the game, use of technology, selection matters or any other matter related to the game which is in opinion of the BCCI is adverse to and /or not in the interest of the game, team or BCCI in any media...,” the clause states.
Known for his soft-spoken nature, Saha made the headlines the day after India’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka series was announced, as he spoke in the media about his private conversations with Ganguly, Dravid and chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma.
“Yes, there is a possibility that BCCI could ask Wriddhiman as to how he spoke on selection matters being a centrally contracted cricketer,” BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told PTI on Thursday.
The 37-year-old, who has played 40 Test matches for India that included three centuries, was told by Dravid and team management that they want to groom a young keeper and he should consider his time in the Indian dressing has all but ended.
Saha also made public allegedly ‘threatening’ whatsapp messages that a journalist sent him for not responding to an interview. However, Saha hasn’t revealed the name of the journalist despite repeated asking from several former cricketers and said he doesn’t want to spoil his career.
While the BCCI supported Saha on messages from the unnamed journalist, the parent body is apparently unhappy about him making a private conversation with Dravid public and also mentioning the BCCI president in a critical manner.
“As far as the president is concerned, he had tried to motivate him. The board might like to know what made him go public with his dressing room conversations with coach Dravid,” Dhumal said. So will BCCI serve a formal showcause notice or ask him verbally about the issue?
“We haven't yet decided on the matter. We are all busy but a call will be taken on a few days,” he said. Many in the BCCI believe that Saha should have refrained from making his conversations with Dravid public as it has dented his image a bit.
“Rahul Dravid said that he is not hurt but wanted to clearly communicate with the player. It's a private conversation and even if he was hurt, he should have kept quiet. Dravid became a bigger person as what Saha did was show the head coach in bad light,” a senior BCCI official said.