The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named India’s Test squad for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka on February 19. Senior players Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha have been dropped for this series.
Just a day after his axing, wicketkeeper-batter Wridhhiman Saha opened up on the matter and shed light on his conversations between BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The Bengal cricketer has been a reserve stumper for India ever since the historic 2020/21 Test series down under. Saha said that Ganguly had assured him that he doesn’t need to worry about anything till he is at the helm of BCCI.
“When I hit an unbeaten 61 taking a pain-killer in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur last November, Dada (Ganguly) congratulated me over Whatsapp. He even mentioned that I should not worry about anything so long as he is at the helm of the BCCI. Such a message from the board president really boosted my confidence. But I failed to understand why everything changed so fast,” the stumper said.
Saha said the team management informed him that he will not be considered for the India squad going forward. “The team management had told me that I would not be considered henceforth. I could not tell this so long as I was part of the India team setup,” said Saha during a media interaction on Saturday. Even coach Rahul Dravid suggested that I think about taking retirement,” he added.
Karnataka cricketer KS Bharat has been roped in as the second-choice wicketkeeper. The series opener will be played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on March 4 whereas the final game would be contested at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 12.
