Former Indian cricketer and current Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has finally opened up about the recent comments made by Wriddhiman Saha, where he had revealed how the team management headed by head coach Rahul Dravid had told him to think about ”retirement” as he won’t be considered for selection further.
Well, recently, Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Indian Test team, stirred a controversy after the team management told him that the team was no longer considering him in their scheme of things. He had said:
‘The team management had told me that I would not be considered henceforth. I could not tell this so long as I was part of the India team setup,”
He added: ‘Even coach Rahul Dravid suggested that I think about taking retirement,”
Now, finally, Rahul Dravid has opened up about the controversial statements made by Wriddhiman Saha. After the Indian side defeated West Indies to complete the series whitewash by 3-0, Rahul Dravid was asked about whether he was hurt by the statements of Wriddhiman Saha.
Responding to this, head coach Rahul Dravid said that he wasn’t hurt by the statements. He also went on to clarify that he has some deep respect for all that Saha has done for the Indian side and it was because of the same respect, he conveyed the message to Saha. He said:
“I’m not hurt at all,” Dravid said. “I have a deep respect for Wriddhiman Saha and his achievements and contributions to Indian cricket. My conversation with him actually came from that place, from my respect for him. He deserved honesty and clarity. I didn’t want him to hear about it from the media.”
He added:
“These are conversations I constantly have with players. I’m not hurt about it at all because I don’t expect players to always like all the messages, or agree with everything I have to say about them. That’s not how it works. When you have difficult conversations with people, sometimes you have to have them with players. You don’t always expect them to agree with you or like with you, but that doesn’t mean you brush it under the carpet and don’t have the conversations.”
Further, Rahul Dravid also elaborated on how he and Rohit Sharma, who has now taken over as India’s new Test captain in addition to his white-ball responsibilities, ensured that the players are constantly being spoken to of their roles and how those who couldn’t make it to the playing XI are given a reason for their exclusion. He said:
“Before every playing XI is picked, even now, either me or Rohit will speak to the guys not playing and are open to answer questions on why they are not playing and what are the reasons a particular XI might play. I’m not hurt by it. It’s natural for players at times to get upset and feel hurt, but I just feel that because of the respect I have for them, my team deserved clarity and honesty, and that’s all I was trying to convey.”
