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Sourav Ganguly serves retirement proposal to Wriddhiman Saha with 'one last match' request but NOC stands in the way
Sourav Ganguly has served a retirement proposal to Wriddhiman Saha with his ‘one last match’ request.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has urged veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha to play a farewell game for Bengal before calling time on his domestic career. On Monday, Tripura Cricket Association joint secretary Jayanta Dey revealed that the former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president has asked Saha to play "one last match" for his home state.
Veteran gloveman Saha plied his trade with Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Saha-starrer GT side failed to make it to the playoffs in the recently concluded season of the cash-rich league. Saha smashed 136 runs in nine games for the Titans at IPL 2024. Champions in the 2022 edition, GT finished eighth with 12 points from 14 matches this season.
Earlier, Saha skipped the Ranji Trophy for Bengal and the Indian batter took up the role of player-cum-mentor at Tripura in 2022. The GT opener has represented Bengal for more than a decade. According to news agency PTI, the 39-year-old had a meeting with Ganguly in Kolkata. "Ganguly wants Saha to retire for Bengal, playing at least one last match. Saha told me this. But he's yet to ask for an NOC (no objection certificate) from Tripura," Dey was quoted as saying.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Saha revealed that he was indirectly told to retire after the wicketkeeper-batter was dropped from the Indian Test side. For the Sri Lanka series in 2022, Saha was left out of India's Test squad for the first time since MS Dhoni called time on his career. Saha has played 40 Tests, 9 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 9 T20Is for India. The 39-year-old last played for India against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in 2021.
"After the South Africa series, Rahul bhai [Dravid, the head coach] called me to the room and said, "Wriddhi, I don't know how to say this, but for some time now the selectors and the team management have been wanting to look at a new face (as wicketkeeper). Because you are not our first-choice wicketkeeper, because you haven't been playing for a while, we want to use this time to groom a younger wicketkeeper." I said "okay, no issues"," Saha had mentioned in the interview.
