'Thought They'd Consider Me For Birmingham Test’- Wriddhiman Saha

India wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha opened up about him playing for India and said that he had hoped that after a successful outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), he would be considered for the fifth and final Test between England and India in Birmingham.

Saha,37, had previously revealed at the start of the year that he had been told by the BCCI selection panel chief and team India coach Rahul Dravid that the team management is going to look beyond him with Rishabh Pant as the first-choice keeper in Tests and Srikar Bharat being his understudy and Saha will no longer be considered for the Indian team going forward.

This led to Saha skipping the Ranji Trophy tournament as well for Bengal and after a huge mess with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), left the state with which he started his career in 2007.

I Hold No Grudges Against Anyone And Completely Respect Their Decision: Wriddhiman Saha

Saha, a veteran of 40 Tests and 122 first-class games, was one of the top performers for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. He played 11 games and scored 317 runs at a strike rate of 122.39.

On being asked if the cricketer has left the hopes of making a comeback, Saha said, “The Indian team told me in February that they wanted to look beyond me. After performing well in the IPL, I thought they would consider me for the Birmingham Test against England. Had they considered me for a Test recall, things could’ve been different. Everything is in the hands of the selectors. I hold no grudges against anyone and completely respect their decision.”

Saha also talked about being heartbroken when his commitment to Bengal Cricket was questioned by CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das.

“After he [Das] made those comments, I asked Avishek Dalmiya to do something about it. However, CAB took no action, and he was instead rewarded. That means nobody paid heed to my request. The matter wasn’t so serious that it couldn’t be resolved. I never imagined that I would have to leave Bengal someday. But when I didn’t get any response from CAB, I felt I had no dignity left. I’ve always played the sport with a lot of passion and commitment, so it hurt me even more,” Saha added.

Saha has signed a contract with Tripura to be their captain-cum-coach for the upcoming few seasons of domestic cricket.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: The Wicket Will Be Flat, Wouldn’t Surprise Me To See 400 On The Board – Michael Vaughan