Wriddhiman Saha Refuses To Play For Bengal In Ranji Knockouts

Wriddhiman Saha has refused to play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy knockouts. The ace Indian wicketkeeper, who is right now representing the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, has diverted down a solicitation from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to be a member of the squad.

Bengal is booked to play Jharkhand in the quarterfinals from June 6 in Bengaluru.

Bengal Wanted Wriddhiman Saha To Play Ranji Knockouts

“The Cricket Association of Bengal wanted Wriddhiman Saha to play for Bengal at this crucial juncture 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.

I had expressed this to Wriddhiman and had requested him to reconsider his decision. However, Wriddhiman has now communicated to us that he is not willing to play the Ranji knockouts,” CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said on Thursday (May 26).

The CAB had at first featured him in the squad alongside India pacer Mohammed Shami prompting a debate. Following this, there was an uproar in Bengal with reports arising that Saha had looked for NOC from the State.

CAB would not verify or refute such reports expressing that any conversation between the association and the player is classified.

“Any discussion that happens between a player and an organization is strictly between that player and the organization. I would like to completely refrain from making any comments at this stage,” Dalmiya had said about a week back.

Wriddhiman Saha Scrutinized By Debabrata Das For Not Committing To The State

Saha, undesirable within the Indian selectors, avoided the league phase of the tournament and it didn’t go down well with the relationship with CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das scrutinizing the cricketer’s obligation to the state.

“Wriddhi has no responsibility towards Bengal cricket. When he is not in the Indian team, he should play for Bengal,” Das was cited in the media as saying which had prompted contrasts between the player and the association.

Saha has been in great form in the IPL, having scored 312 runs in 10 games for the Titans as an opener. The Titans will play the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday (May 29).

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