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“This is what I face from a so called “Respected” journalist”: Wriddhiman Saha leaks WhatsApp chat of alleged threat from a journalist post selection snub for IND vs SL Test series

Gurpreet Singh
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"This is what I face from a so called “Respected” journalist": Wriddhiman Saha leaks WhatsApp chat of alleged threat from a journalist post selection snub for IND vs SL Test series

Wriddhiman Saha leaks WhatsApp chat of a journalist persisting for an interview with him post his exclusion from India squad for SL series.

Wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha has found his name amongst the four senior players who’ve being axed from the Indian Test team squad for the imminent two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home.

The 37-year-old, however, post his selection snub has visibly expressed his disappointment on the likes of head coach Rahul Dravid and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.

Saha has even went on to exclaim that Dravid in fact, suggested him to consider retiring from International Cricket after he was explicably told by the BCCI in advance regarding him being not considered for selection.

The Bengal wicketkeeper also remarked that he ‘failed to understand why everything changed so fast’ after he was assured by Sourav Ganguly of a place in the Indian squad post his half-century knock against New Zealand during the first Test in November 2021. Ganguly, as per Saha, explicably told him not to worry until he is at the helm of the BCCI.

Chetan Sharma, the chairman of selectors, on the other hand, did not disclose the grounds on which Saha was omitted from the squad.

“I can’t tell you on what grounds he has been dropped. That’s for selectors. All I can tell you is that he was told before and asked to play the Ranji trophy, which is the ladder for the Indian team. What we discussed between ourselves we can’t tell you,” remarked Sharma.

“Why he did not play Ranji, the state association CAB can tell you that. That is not my jurisdiction. As selectors, we wanted them to play. We are not looking at age. When there are youngsters sitting outside, we thought we shall give chance. For these two test matches. But it’s important to play Ranji. Else, how will we know if you are match-ready?”, Sharma further added.

Wriddhiman Saha leaks WhatsApp chat of a journalist

If this wasn’t it, Saha, post a few hours after the Indian squad announcement on Saturday, went ahead to post a screenshot of a one-way WhatsApp chat, allegedly from a ‘respected’ journalist on his Twitter handle.

As per the texts, the person initially told Saha to do an interview with him, and that he has no other democratic option to choose anyone else but him for the same. The journalist even went on to assure Saha that he is the only person who could ‘help’ him.

A few minutes later, when Saha allegedly did not call him for the interview, the unnamed journalist went on to threaten the Bengal keeper stating that ‘this wasn’t something which he should have done’.

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About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh

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Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.

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