Will hold no grudge: Wriddhiman Saha after CAB grants NOC

Earlier
this
year,
Saha
was
categorically
told
that
he
was
no
longer
a
part
of
the
Indian
team
set
up.
The
Indian
team
management
had
informed
the
veteran
cricketer
that
the
37-year-old
wicketkeeper
wouldn’t
be
considered
for
the
Indian
side.

Following
his
exclusion,
Saha
had
hit
out
at
head
coach
Rahul
Dravid
and
has
been
on
the
outs
with
BCCI
president
Sourav
Ganguly.

Not
only
was
Saha’s
international
career
slipping
away,
the
veteran
cricketer
found
himself
in
the
middle
of
turmoil
on
the
domestic
front.
After
being
accused
of
making
excuses
to
miss
domestic
matches
for
Bengal,
by
CAB
joint
secretary
Debabrata
Das,
Saha
had
demanded
an
apology
but
never
got
one.
Not
only
did
Saha
not
get
the
apology,
Das
was
sent
as
the
Indian
team’s
administrative
manager
to
England
and
that
was
the
final
nail.
Thereon,
Saha
decided
to
end
his
time
with
the
Bengal
team.

CAB
granted
him
the
NOC
and
that
brought
an
end
to
his
15-year-long
tenure
with
CAB.

“Mr
Wriddhiman
Saha
came
to
CAB
and
in
an
application
to
President
Avishek
Dalmiya
sought
the
NOC
from
the
association,”
the
CAB
stated.

“CAB
gave
concurrence
to
the
request
of
Mr
Saha
and
provided
the
NOC
to
him
for
playing
for
another
state.
CAB
also
wished
him
the
very
best
for
his
future
endeavours,”
it
added

After
getting
the
NOC,
Saha,
said
he
was
requested
to
reconsider
his
decision.
“I
was
asked
earlier.
Requests
have
been
made
again
and
again
today.
But
my
decision
has
already
been
made.
So
today
I
took
NOC,”
PTI
quoted
Saha.

But
the
cricketer
added
he
would
never
keep
any
grudge
against
Bengal
and
would
be
ready
to
serve
again
if
needed
in
future.
“I
never
had
any
ego
issues
with
Bengal
cricket
establishment.
Maybe,
there
was
a
disagreement
with
someone
(joint
secretary
Debu),
that’s
why
I
had
to
make
this
decision.

“I
extend
all
my
good
wishes
for
Bengal.
If
I
needed
in
the
future,
and
if
the
situation
is
conducive
then,
I’m
there
for
help,”
Saha
further
added
before
leaving
the
Eden
Gardens
premises.

Saha
was
last
in
discussion
for
a
player-cum-mentor
role
with
Tripura
but
a
top
official
claimed
that
he
demanded
an
“exorbitant
fee”
for
the
contract.
“There
has
been
no
development
so
far
after
he
asked
for
an
exorbitant
fee
apart
from
the
regular
match
fees
(Rs
2.4
lakh
per
match),”
the
official
told
PTI.
“Tripura
is
currently
mired
in
problems
between
two
faction
groups
and
there
is
an
ongoing
case
in
the
High
Court
against
the
current
establishment.
Elections
are
due
in
September,”
the
official
added.

Asked
where
was
he
heading
to
in
the
next
season,
Saha
said:
“Talks
are
on
with
many
states.
But,
it’s
still
not
decided,
will
let
you
know
when
it’s
100
per
cent
confirmed.”

But
the
veteran
keeper’s
claims
that
Ganguly
had
assured
him
of
being
retained
in
the
Indian
team
till
he
remained
president,
had
raised
eyebrows
and
Saha
on
his
part
could
never
produce
conclusive
evidence
that
was
the
former
India
captain’s
verbatim
statement
during
an
interaction
with
him.

“After
scoring
61
against
New
Zealand
at
Kanpur,
Dadi
(Sourav
Ganguly)
congratulated
me
over
WhatsApp
and
mentioned,
‘As
long
as
I’m
here
(heading
the
BCCI),
you
would
be
in
the
team”.
“Such
a
message
from
the
BCCI
president
really
boosted
my
confidence.
What
I
am
struggling
to
understand
is
how
things
have
changed
so
fast,”
the
wicketkeeper-batsman
had
alleged
in
his
outburst
post
getting
the
boot
from
national
team.

Having
made
his
debut
against
Hyderabad
in
2007,
the
Siliguri-born
Saha
has
featured
in
122
first-class
and
102
List
A
games.
He
also
has
played
40
Tests
and
9
ODIs
for
India.

(With
inputs
from
PTI)