Rahul Dravid has said on Sunday that he is 'not hurt at all' by Wriddhiman Saha as he has revealed their private conversations in public as well.
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Team India men’s team head coach Rahul Dravid has said on Sunday that he is ‘not hurt at all’ by Wriddhiman Saha as he has revealed their private conversations in public as well. Dravid again shared that he has ‘deep respect’ for the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman, stating that the motive of his message was to provide him with the ‘clarity he deserves’ as well.
However, Saha has recently revealed that after India’s series defeat in South Africa, Rahul Dravid asked him to consider retiring from international cricket, as he won’t be a part of the team’s plans. Meanwhile, the batsman has also mentioned BCCI president Sourav Ganguly‘s assurances to him that until he’s there, Saha will play and that left him surprised as to ‘why everything changed so fast’.
In the press conference after India beat West Indies by 17 runs in the third T20I on Sunday, the first question Rahul Dravid had to face was about Saha’s remarks.
He said: “Thanks for congratulating us on winning the T20I series. (laughs). No, I’m actually not hurt at all. I have a deep respect for Wriddhiman Saha and his achievements, contributions to Indian cricket. My conversation with him came from that place. He deserved honesty and clarity. I didn’t want him to hear about it, you know, from the media. 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 the messages or agree with everything I have to say about them.”
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Rahul Dravid again shared that he and India captain Rohit Sharma believe in open and two-way communication about selections, no matter how difficult things can become as well.
“Sometimes you have difficult conversations with players. But that doesn’t mean you brush it under the carpet and don’t have the conversations, right? I truly believe in having those conversations before every XI is picked. Even now, either me or Rohit will speak to those not playing. And we are open to answer questions to why they are not playing and what are the reasons for a particular XI that we might play. It’s natural for players at times to get upset and feel hurt. I just felt my team deserved clarity and honesty; that’s all I was trying to convey,” Rahul Dravid claimed.
Read More – Wriddhiman Saha Backs Rishabh Pant as first choice keeper
However, Wriddhiman Saha has so far played 40 Tests for India, scoring 1353 runs which came at an average of 29.41. He has also affected 92 catches and 12 stumping with the gloves.
Meanwhile, the head coach has shared his thoughts. Dravid elaborated that they are looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper, likely KS Bharat. Notably, the India-Sri Lanka series will begin on February 24
Rahul Dravid expressed: “We have only three Tests this year, and with Rishabh Pant having established himself as No 1 choice, the idea was to say that we were looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper. This doesn’t change my feelings or respect for Wriddhi and his contributions.”
“The easiest thing for me is to not have these conversations but that’s not who I am; that’s not what I am going to do. I don’t expect them to like it or like me. But I hope at some stage they will respect the fact that I was at least able to front up, and have these conversations with them,” Rahul Dravid concluded.
