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Few days after Wriddhiman Saha played a match-saving 61* knock against New Zealand, the wicket-keeper was dropped from the Test side and was notably suggested to retire with Team India planning to look beyond him. The sequence of events did not really go out well with the 37-year-old and the cricket fraternity has been left divided on the approach shown by team management.
While some people opine that it is a positive move considering Rishabh Pant is No. 1 wicketkeeper and they would need to look at a younger back-up option, others believe that it is harsh on Saha to end his career having played such a crucial innings in his last match. With so many experts voicing their thoughts on the same, 1983 WC winner Syed Kirmani has also given his say on the entire saga.
I was dropped from national side for no fault of mine: Kirmani
While drawing parallels with his own exclusion from national side to that of Saha, the 72-year-old made some shocking revelations in conversation with Sportskeeda, sharing details about how he was dropped way back in 1986 despite being in such good form.
Reflecting on his sudden exclusion from Team India, Kirmani said, "I don’t know [what happened]. I was at the pinnacle of my career around that time. Yet, I was dropped from both the Test and ODI teams for no fault of mine. There was no competition around me. I played 88 Tests and was the savior of India’s ODI team on many occasions."
"Do you know, wrong reports were published in the newspapers suggesting that I was performing poorly? While somebody else would drop a catch in the slip cordon, they [the media] would publish my photograph and insinuate that Kirmani had dropped a catch or missed a stumping, " he further added.
Former Indian wicket-keeper opens up on team management's conspiracy
The former wicket-keeper went on to reveal that the team management took advantage of a minor injury he suffered and axed him from the national side on that basis. However, Kirmani opined that the main reason was the fact that ha had started to get more famous, taking more limelight that the other Indian stars which did not go down well with everyone.
He revealed, "I became very popular by 1986, which some people couldn’t accept. Whether in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, as soon as we landed, the media took me aside, leaving the superstars of the team behind. I also acted in a Bollywood film [Kabhi Ajnabi The] alongside Sandeep Patil because of which I was highlighted in the newspapers."
Talking about Saha, Kirmani added that just like him, the wicket-keeper has been dropped from the Indian team when he’s at the peak of his career. However, he did agree that age factor is something which has been there for a long time which did not even spare Sachin Tendulkar.
"I rate this boy very highly. In my opinion, he is currently India’s most technically sound wicketkeeper. But the selection committee, the team management and others have something else on their minds. Unfortunately, he has very stiff competition," Kirmani said about Saha. But, in addition, the former WC winner did have an advise for 37-year-old as he asked him to keep playing Ranji Trophy in order to keep fighting for his place.
