Former India head coach Ravi Shastri urged the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to look into Wriddhiman Saha-unnamed journalist row, saying the interest of all the cricketers should be protected.
Wriddhiman Saha was dropped from India’s Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in March (AFP Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Wriddhiman Saha had shared a screengrab of his conversation with an unnamed journalist
- The journalist seemingly threatened Saha for not speaking to him
- Saha was dropped from India’s squad for upcoming Test series vs Sri Lanka
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has condemned the threats received by Wriddhiman Saha from an unnamed journalist in a strongly-worded social media post. Shastri urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly to intervene and make sure players don’t go through such situations in the future.
Wriddhiman Saha on Saturday shared a private conversation with an unnamed journalist. The messages in the screenshot he shared appeared to be threatening Saha for not speaking to him over his exclusion from the Test squad for the upcoming 2-match series against Sri Lanka in March. In a one-sided exchange of messages, the journalist was seen telling Saha that he was hurt by the wicketkeeper not responding to his calls and that he doesn’t take insults kindly.
Saha shared the screengrabs of the messages and wrote on Twitter: “After all of my contributions to Indian cricket..this is what I face from a so-called “Respected” journalist! This is where the journalism has gone (sic).”
Former cricketers have jumped to the defence of Saha over the issue, urging Saha to reveal the identity of the journalist who threatened him.
Ravi Shastri said such instances are happening too frequently and the board must look into the matter to protect the interest of every cricketer.
“Shocking a player being threatened by a journo. Blatant position abuse. Something that’s happening too frequently with #TeamIndia. Time for the BCCI PREZ to dive in. Find out who the person is in the interest of every cricketer. This is serious coming from ultimate team man WS,” he wrote on social media.
Shocking a player being threatened by a journo. Blatant position abuse. Something that’s happening too frequently with #TeamIndia. Time for the BCCI PREZ to dive in. Find out who the person is in the interest of every cricketer. This is serious coming from ultimate team man WS https://t.co/gaRyfYVCrs
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) February 20, 2022
Meanwhile, Saha, who has been dropped from the Test squad, told the media on Sunday that head coach Dravid asked him to consider retirement and that team is looking at grooming younger wicketkeeper batters as back-up for Rishabh Pant, who is the first-choice stumper in Tests.
Head coach Rahul Dravid, speaking to the press after India’s 3-0 sweep of the T20I series against the West Indies on Sunday, said he is not hurt at all by Saha telling the media about their conversation over the wicketkeeper’s future in Test cricket.
“I’m actually not hurt at all. I have deep respect for Wriddhi and his achievements and his contribution to Indian cricket. My conversation came from that place. I think he deserved honesty and clarity,” Dravid said.
India will take on Sri Lanka in a 2-Test series in Lucknow and Bengaluru from March 4.
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