Wriddhiman Saha has refused to play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy knockouts. The veteran India wicketkeeper, who is currently with the Gujarat Titans team in the IPL, has turned down a request from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to be part of the team. Bengal are scheduled to play Jharkhand in the quarterfinals from June 6 in Bengaluru."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. I had expressed this to Wriddhiman and had requested him to reconsider his decision. However, Wriddhiman has now communicated to us that he is not willing to play the Ranji knockouts," CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said on Thursday (May 26).
The CAB had at first featured him in the squad alongside India pacer Mohammed Shami prompting a debate. Following this, there was an uproar in Bengal with reports arising that Saha had looked for NOC from the State. CAB refused to confirm or deny such reports stating that any discussion between the association and the player is confidential. "Any discussion that happens between a player and an organisation is strictly between that player and the organisation. I would like to completely refrain from making any comments at this stage," Dalmiya had said about a week back.Saha, out of favour with the Indian selectors, stayed away from the league stage of the championship and it did not go down well with the association with CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das questioning the cricketer's commitment to the state. "Wriddhi has no responsibility towards Bengal cricket. When he is not in the Indian team, he should play for Bengal," Das was quoted in the media as saying which had led to differences between the player and the association.Saha has been in good form in the IPL, having scored 312 runs in 10 games for the Titans as an opener. The Titans will be playing the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday (May 29).
