What Exactly Is Wriddhiman Saha's 'Whatsapp' Saga?

Wriddhiman Saha has been India's one of the finest wicketkeepers but in the last months, his place in the Indian test squad has been under the scanner for two reasons - The rise of Rishabh Pant and age. 

Saha, 37, is not the first-choice wicketkeeper anymore. In 2021, he only played when Pant wasn't in the squad. In November, Saha played against New Zealand in the first test and scored a crucial 61. 

When the Ranji Trophy 2022 squads were announced in early February, several reports suggested Saha was told that he won't be considered in the test team, which is the possible reason why he wasn't part of the West Bengal squad. 

On 19th February, India's test squad for the Sri Lanka series was announced in which Saha was not included. Chief Selector Chetan Sharma said, "I can't tell you on what grounds he has been dropped. That is for the selectors only. All I can tell you is that he was told before and was asked to play the Ranji Trophy, which is the ladder for playing international cricket. What we discussed between ourselves (committee members), we can't tell you that."

Sharma further refused to get into the details of why Saha skipped Bengal's matches in the ongoing Ranji Trophy due to personal reasons. "The CAB, state cricket association can tell you why because that isn't my jurisdiction. This selection committee believes that unless you are unfit, under load management, or busy with international cricket, you should play in domestic cricket. That is very important."

Sharma had brushed aside the fact that age was the reason behind Saha's exclusion from the Test squad. "We don't give much importance to age but at one point, the selectors start to think when you get some youngsters outside and want to give them a chance. That is why selection committee said that you won't be considered for two matches. The doors are open for you. If you haven't played for long, how will we see the skills of you? This is why playing Ranji Trophy gets important for all and I am consistently emphasising on that."

After getting axed from the Indian team, Saha came on record to reveal the conversations that happened after his 61-run knock till his axing from the team. 

"The team management had told that I would not be considered henceforth. I could not tell this so long as I was part of the India team setup. Even coach Rahul Dravid suggested that I think about taking retirement," Saha revealed. 

Saha further said, "When I hit an unbeaten 61 taking a pain-killer in the first test against New Zealand in Kanpur last November, Dadi(Sourav Ganguly) congratulated me over Whatsapp. He even mentioned that I should not worry about anything so long as he is at the helm of the BCCI. 

Such a message from the board president really boosted my confidence. But I failed to understand why everything changed so fast," Saha added as quoted by PTI. 

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In another disturbing event that happened on 19th February only, completely unrelated to Saha's exclusion from India's Test squad, the 37-year-old wicketkeeper batter shared a WhatsApp chat of an unnamed journalist who contacted him for an interview. When the interview didn't happen, the journalist disrespected the veteran and ended the conversation on a threatening note.