BCCI to investigate Wriddhiman Saha’s threat episode

Indian cricket has witnessed controversies one after another in the last few months. The center of the latest episode is veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who purportedly received a string of insulting WhatsApp messages from a journalist. The 37-year-old, who was dropped for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, took to Twitter on Saturday (February 19) and shared a screenshot of those messages, expressing disappointment over his treatment from a “so-called” journalist.

As per the latest developments, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is calling for a “thorough investigation” on the matter to find out the culprit. It has been learned that the case won’t be laid to the rest until “every single detail” on the interview Saha gave and the shared tweet is looked into. BCCI is also keen to know if any other cricketer has gone through such a crisis.

Here’s Wriddhiman Saha’s tweet:

BCCI wants to dig deep into the matter

“Saha is a contracted cricketer of the BCCI. The onus is on the Board to not let its own player down. That aside, if there is any kind of a nexus at work here, one has to look into it,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Meanwhile, Saha, in his interview with ESPNCricinfo, suggested that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had assured him a place in the side.

“The biggest shock was that when I scored 61 against New Zealand in Kanpur despite being injured, Dadi (as BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is referred to), texted to congratulate me and said I didn’t need to worry about anything till he is there. Naturally, I was shocked at what I was told immediately one series after,” the veteran cricketer was quoted as saying.

Notably, several earlier reports have claimed Ganguly has been attending the selection meetings in recent past. Hence, Saha’s statement has ignited the controversy even further. “What was the need for a BCCI official to speak with Saha and assure him of a place in the side? ‘I don’t need to worry till he’s there’. Kitni galat baat hai yeh (How wrong it is to say something like this),” officials add.

“First the Virat incident happened, then all this. And then he’s (Saha) posted that tweet of the screenshot (of messages he received from a journalist). What the h*** is happening? The Board has to act because enough is enough,” say those tracking developments.