Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal, Makes himself unavailable for the Ranji Trophy Knockouts
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman, Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal after he informed the Cricket Association of Bengal on Thursday that he is “not willing” to play for the state team in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy knockouts.
After Sourav Ganguly, Wriddhiman Saha is undoubtedly the most popular cricketer. The veteran wicket-keeper has been in excellent form for Gujarat Titans (GT), who advanced to the IPL 2022 final by defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 1 last night. At the top of the order, Saha has 312 runs in 10 games to help them get off to a good start more often than not.
Saha’s illustrious career with Bengal, where he made his Ranji debut in November 2007 and went on to play 122 first-class and 102 List A matches, is effectively over after CAB confirmed that Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal.
“The Cricket Association of Bengal wanted Wriddhiman Saha to play for Bengal at this critical juncture,” CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement. “Especially when Bengal would be fighting in the knockout stage in a bid to win the Ranji Trophy after becoming the top ranked team in the country at the end of the Group Stage,” he added.
“Wriddhiman had been informed of this, and I had begged that he reconsider his choice. Wriddhiman, on the other hand, has informed us that he will not be participating in the Ranji Knockouts.” The 37-year-old, who has 122 first-class appearances under his belt, has also quit their official team WhatsApp group, indicating that he has moved on.
According to a CAB spokesman, Saha has yet to request a no-objection certificate (NOC), but if he does, the organisation would provide it.
“We tried everything we could to persuade him, including reaching out to his childhood coach (Jayanta Bhowmick), but he has decided not to play for Bengal again. When he requests it, the group will issue him a letter of authorization “According to PTI, the official said.
After being left out of the Indian Test selection for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka in February, Saha withdrew from the Ranji Trophy group stage citing “personal concerns.” Now the news of Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal has been confirmed by the president of CAB.
Debabrata Das, the CAB assistant secretary, then made scathing statements in the media about Saha, doubting his dedication to enrage the legendary wicketkeeper-batter, which added to Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal.
Following his stellar performance for Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2022, Saha was selected for the Ranji quarterfinal, which irritated him even more because “he was not contacted before being selected.”
Saha reportedly requested an apology from Debabrata Das, but when it did not come, he made it obvious that he would no longer play for Bengal. “There are a lot of things in the middle.” But now that we know he won’t be playing, we can plan accordingly for the big game,” the official stated.
Bengal will play their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand in Bangalore from June 6where Wriddhiman Saha not to play for Bengal.