On Saturday, BCCI named the 18-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka in March. Wriddhiman Saha was one of the four veteran players dropped from the team. Moments after being axed, the wicketkeeper revealed that after the South Africa series, Head Coach Rahul Dravid, had advised him to contemplate “retirement” since he would not be considered for selection in the future.
Now Rahul Dravid has finally broken his silence on Saha’s statement. He said that his only intention was to provide Saha some clarity regarding his position currently in the Indian team.
“I’m actually not hurt at all. I have deep respect for Wriddhi and his achievements and his contribution to Indian cricket. My conversation came from that place. I think he deserved honesty and clarity.”, said Dravid in a virtual media interaction.
Dravid further added that he approached Saha since Rishabh Pant has already established himself in the team and young KS Bharat is being considered as a backup wicketkeeper for the future. “I was just trying to convey that with RP (Pant) having established himself as our No.1 wicketkeeper-batsman, the idea was to say that we are looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper (KS Bharat). This doesn’t change my feelings or respect for Wriddhi.”, Dravid said.
Easiest thing for me is to not have conversations with players: Rahul Dravid
Dravid said that he believes in having open and honest interactions with players so that they are properly informed about the management’s decisions. Whether the players like his words or not, the India coach stated that he will continue to have tough conversations with the players.“Easiest thing for me is to not have those conversations and not speak to players about it. That’s not what I am going to do.”, said Dravid.