Team India's squad announcement for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour was followed by some strong reactions from Wriddhiman Saha, one of the four senior players who were dropped from the Test team. Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as the Test skipper for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka which is slated to begin from March 4.
Speaking to the press after the squad announcement, Saha dropped a big bombshell as he revealed that he was asked to ponder 'retirement' in the aftermath of his ouster from the team. He made another big revelation, by revealing the message from BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma.
Sharma, addressing a virtual press conference on Saturday stated that the senior players were dropped only for the forthcoming two-match Tests against Sri Lanka.
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Saha however quashed those claims, revealing how Sharma gave him a different explanation. Saha added that Chetan Sharma told him he will not be 'considered from now on'.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Saha revealed, "Ten-twelve days later, I got a call from Chetan Sharma [chairman of selectors]. He asked me if I was playing Ranji Trophy. I said I hadn't decided yet. Then he went on to tell me what Rahul bhai had said. So I asked him if this decision was for just this series or for the upcoming series against Australia and England too. Then he paused for a couple of seconds and said, "From now on, you will not be considered."
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He further added, "Then I asked him why, is it because of my performance and fitness or is it because of my age? He said fitness and performance were not an issue. "We want to look at new faces and if we bring in a new face, we can't drop him without playing him." That's why he said "from now on".
This clearly highlights the contradictory claims of Chetan Sharma, who had earlier claimed the door isn't shut for any of the senior players, but Saha was told something different.
