Wriddhiman Saha knows when to retire, nothing can break his mental strength: Childhood coach Jayanta
India Today
Speaking to India Today, Wriddhiman Saha's childhood coach Jayanta Bhowmik said his ward is still among the fittest players going around and that he has a couple of years of cricket left in him. Saha has been dropped from the India squad for the 2-match series against Sri Lanka with the team management and selectors hinting he won't be considered for the senior national side anymore.
There shouldn't be different criteria for selection for different members of the Indian cricket team, according to Wriddhiman Saha's childhood coach Jayanta Bhowmik. The cricket coach from Bengal added he was hurt by the decision taken by the team management and the senior selection committee to drop the veteran wicketkeeper from the Test squad for the 2-match series against Sri Lanka in March.
Saha, who has arguably been one of the best wicketkeepers going around in Test cricket, has been told by the Indian team management that it is looking beyond him in a bid to groom a young wicketkeeper while Rishabh Pant continues to be the first-choice gloveman in Test cricket.
The 37-year-old, who has 40 Tests over the 12 years for India, recently revealed that he was indirectly told to consider retirement if he wanted while adding that head coach Rahul Dravid had told him during the tour of South Africa that he shouldn't be surprised if he finds his name missing from the Test squad for the Sri Lanka Test series, starting March 4.
The senior selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, picked Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper and picked Andhra Pradesh's KS Bharat as the back-up option in the 18-man squad. Saha also confirmed that chief selector Sharma had told him that he won't be considered "anymore".
Speaking to indiatoday.in, Jayanta said he appreciates Dravid's decision to speak to Saha in advance but questioned the reasoning for his snub from the Test side.
Saha last played for India in the 2-Test series against New Zealand last year and hit a fighting fifty in the series opener. However, he was not picked in the XI despite traveling to South Africa for the 3-Test series which India lost 1-2.
"On what criteria has this decision been taken? This is my question. If you are going to select a player, regardless of any team, the criteria are always fitness and performance. If age is not a criterion, then on what basis has he not been picked? What is the problem? Even in the squad, there are senior cricketers, why Wriddhiman Saha alone will be dropped from the side?" Jayanta said.
