Wriddhiman Saha declines to play for Bengal in Ranji knockouts, confirms CAB president
Wriddhiman Saha has refused to play for Bengal in the upcoming Ranji Trophy knockouts, confirmed Cricket Association of Bengal president Avishek Dalmiya. Saha was initially included in Bengal’s squad for their quarterfinal fixture against Jharkhand, set to start June 6, but not to be part of it now.
Wriddhiman Saha has been arguably the second-most popular cricketer after Sourav Ganguly. The veteran wicket-keeper has been in good touch for Gujarat Titans (GT), who have reached IPL 2022 final by beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 1 a few nights ago. Saha, at the top, has scored 312 runs in 10 games to get them off to a resounding start more often than not.
But in the recent developments, Saha came into the limelight for an unwanted incident. He does not want to represent Bengal anymore in the domestic circuit for unknown reasons. The keeper was also included in Bengal’s squad for their quarterfinal fixture against Jharkhand, scheduled to begin from June 6, but now he wants NoC.
"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,” CAB president Avishek Dalmiya confirmed the news in a statement.
"I had expressed this to Wriddhiman and requested him to reconsider his decision. However, Wriddhiman has now communicated to us that he is not willing to play the Ranji Trophy knockouts."
In all, Saha has played 122 first-class matches for Bengal.