"Not hurt at all" - Rahul Dravid on Wriddhiman Saha saga

Indian men's head coach Rahul Dravid said on Sunday that he is 'not hurt at all' by Wriddhiman Saha revealing their private conversations in public. Dravid said that he has 'deep respect' for the veteran wicketkeeper-batter, adding that the motive of his message was to provide him the 'clarity he deserves'.

Saha recently revealed that after India's series defeat in South Africa, Dravid asked him to consider retiring from international cricket, as he was no longer a part of the team's plans. The 37-year-old also mentioned BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's assurances to him, wondering '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 Dravid received was about Saha's remarks. The batting legend quipped:

"Thanks for congratulating us on winning the T20I series. (laughs)"

Dravid then said he didn't want Saha to hear it from the media. The head coach added that he constantly has such chats with players, and doesn't expect them to always take them happily. He said:

"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."

Dravid added that he and captain Rohit Sharma believe in open and two-way communication about selections, irrespective of how difficult things can get.

"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."

Saha has played 40 Tests for India, scoring 1353 runs at an average 29.41. Considered among the best glovemen in the world, he has also effected 92 catches and 12 stumpings.

He didn't feature in India's squad for the impending two-Test series against Sri Lanka, along with Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. Saha also pulled out of the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy due to personal reasons, and is now expected to return only for the Gujarat Titans at IPL 2022.

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"Looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper" - Rahul Dravid

Explaining his side of the story further, Dravid elaborated that the team is looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper, presumably KS Bharat.

He hoped that in the future Saha would respect him for being upfront and honest with him. The head coach concluded by saying:

"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.”

The India-Sri Lanka series kicks off on February 24.