Journalist ‘threatens’ Wriddhiman Saha: Is Saha a small pawn in a ‘big BCCI fight’?

Indian cricket has come a long way – literally. From a time when journalists had a fair amount of respect for cricketers and vice versa, we’re now seeing both parties either afraid of or being disrespectful of each other.

And cricketer Wriddhiman Saha’s tweet on February 19, exposing threatening messages from an alleged journalist pressuring him to do an interview, is only the tip of the iceberg.

The screenshot was taken shortly after Saha was unceremoniously dropped from the next two Test series against Sri Lanka by the senior selection committee a day before. Saha, 37, was apparently also given a clear hint that he might not be considered again for national duty.

Then came Saha’s screenshot of messages from an alleged journalist.

Now, the journalist in question is no stranger to Saha – or to anyone else among present day cricketers. In fact, he’s been the most famous name in the Team India dressing room for over a decade now because of his proximity to not only them but to the who’s who of BCCI circles. He has authored several books, including one on maestro Sachin Tendulkar after the latter’s retirement.

And, because the alleged journalist is Bengali and is constantly seen with current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, Saha’s outburst has surprised everyone as it may affect his future prospects on the field too.

The story started like this.

After the South Africa Test series, Saha, India’s No. 1 wicketkeeper, was told bluntly by none other than chief coach Rahul Dravid that the team would, as Indian Express reported, “look to the future, bringing in a younger wicketkeeper as Rishabh Pant’s back-up”. The report added, “Chief selector Chetan Sharma, however, had spoken about the veteran being excluded for just two Tests against Sri Lanka, at the post-selection press conference on Saturday.”

On the same day, Saha posted his “controversial” tweet on “where journalism has gone”.

In the screenshot Saha posted, the alleged journalist had first asked Saha for an interview, urging him to “choose” a journalist “whoever can help the most”. After a missed call which Saha did not pick up, the “journalist” said, “You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this. This wasn’t something you should have done.”

Unsurprisingly, Twitter erupted in speculation and the name of the journalist began trending on the social media platform.

A day later, on Sunday night, Team India’s recently retired chief coach, Ravi Shastri, stepped in, asking his bête noire Ganguly to “dive in” and “find out who the person is”.

This is the same Shastri who was quiet during instances of match-fixing and spot-fixing, the Lalit Modi saga, the Greg Chappell era, and more. Why the sudden concern about cricket players, or about cricket at all?

The answer to this lies in the question.

Shastri’s fight with Ganguly is not unknown. From the time Shastri was picked as India’s chief coach in 2017 by then BCCI administrator Vinod Rai to his contract expiring in late 2021, Shastri and Ganguly always had an uneasy relationship.

But they had one thing in common. And that was the Bengali journalist who had enjoyed unlimited access to the Indian dressing room under Shastri’s tenure as well. In the name of Vinod Rai, he was allowed to enter the team’s hotel lobby and players’ rooms to conduct exclusive interviews for a private channel.

Shastri never objected then. In fact, most of the senior cricketers were also getting various deals through this journalist – bat logo sponsors, TV show deals, commentary deals, and appearance money for corporate events.

So, the big question is, what has changed in the last few months that this journalist is suddenly persona non grata within the BCCI?

It circles back to the intensifying power struggle between BCCI president Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah to control cricketing activities. In his most recent trip to the Delhi & District Cricket Association premises three days ago, during an “off the record” meeting with three Delhi journalists, junior Shah made no secret of his dislike for Ganguly and one of Ganguly’s “close journalists”.

Saha, a pawn?

Now, Saha had said that after he scored 61 against New Zealand at Kanpur, Ganguly congratulated him on WhatsApp and purportedly said: “As long as I’m here [helming the BCCI], you would be in the team.” Saha said that “really boosted” his confidence so he was “struggling” to understand how “things have changed so fast”.

But the BCCI president is not expected to get involved in selections, and Ganguly’s conversation with Saha has reportedly not gone down well with some offices in the BCCI.

Now, the BCCI has announced a thorough inquiry into the entire episode, intending to delve deep and investigate whether any other cricketer has faced similar issues. Saha has suddenly realised he may have more losses than gains in this fight with the top brass.

He told the Indian Express, “I haven’t received any communication from the BCCI yet. If they ask me to reveal the name [of the journalist], I would tell them it was never my intention to harm somebody’s career, to pull a person down. That’s why I didn’t reveal the name in my tweet. That’s not the teaching of my parents. The main purpose of my tweet was to expose the fact that there’s someone in the media who does such things, disrespecting a player’s wish.”

The reality, though, is quite far from this. A former BCCI office bearer, on the condition of anonymity, told Newslaundry there is “a lot at stake for a player even after his retirement”.

“But only if he is on the right side of the cricket administration!” the former official said. “The most lucrative is to be an expert commentator for the official broadcaster. And you can’t do that without the blessings of the top BCCI bosses.”

Given the present scenario, Saha’s best bet after retirement could well be in the Bengali language commentary box. And it’s hardly a secret to Bengali viewers that Ganguly, along with two or three more (including the journalist in question), has been handpicking commentators for this job.

Saha has even gone to an extent where he is claiming that “he didn’t have any conversation with Ganguly over the last few days”. He has well understood that he is fast becoming a pawn between two warring factions of the BCCI. At this point, he can hardly afford to lose the support of either.