The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to reprimand veteran wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha for his recent outburst, which is in violation of protocols to be followed by a centrally-contracted cricketer.
After being dropped from the team for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka, Saha told the media that head coach Rahul Dravid had asked him to consider retirement after the South Africa tour as he wasn’t in the selectors and team management’s scheme of things anymore.
The 37-year-old further alleged that after his half-century against New Zealand in Kanpur Test last year, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly texted him and told him to not worry about anything as long as he is at the helm.
Saha also opened up on his conversation with chief selector Chetan Sharma post his non-selection in the squad for the Sri Lanka home series.
See Also: Saha shouldn’t have made conversation with BCCI chief public, says Snehasish Ganguly
Now, a report published in PTI suggests that Saha might be taken to task for violating clause 6.3 of players' central contract which states: "Player shall not make any comments about the game, officials, incidents that happened in the game, use of technology, selection matters or any other matter related to the game which is in opinion of the BCCI is adverse to and /or not in the interest of the game, team or BCCI in any media...."
Notably, Saha recently shared a screenshot of his private chat with an unnamed journalist who sent him threats for not agreeing to give an interview over his exclusion from the Team India Test squad.
While the BCCI supported Saha and asked him to name the journalist, the cricket board is apparently unhappy about his comments on Dravid and Ganguly.
"Yes, there is a possibility that BCCI could ask Wriddhiman as to how he spoke on selection matters being a centrally-contracted cricketer," BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told PTI.
"As far as the president is concerned, he had tried to motivate him. The board might like to know what made him go public with his dressing room conversations with coach Dravid."
When asked whether the BCCI will send a formal showcause notice to Saha, Dhumal replied: "We haven't yet decided on the matter. We are all busy but a call will be taken on a few days."
Some of the BCCI officials are of the opinion that Saha should have refrained from making his conversations with Dravid public.
"Rahul Dravid said that he is not "hurt" but wanted to clear communicate with the player. It's a private conversation and even if he was hurt, he should have kept quiet. Dravid became a bigger person as what Saha did was show the head coach in bad light," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
(With PTI inputs)
