Wriddhiman Saha's statement sparks bitter rift with Bengal Cricket: 'Eden is not my home'

Veteran India cricketer Wriddhiman Saha is all set to play the Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, which has been his home ground over the years, playing domestic cricket in for Bengal. During a press conference ahead of the match, Saha shed his thoughts about the iconic stadium and said it is not his home ground anymore. Meanwhile, earlier last week, the 37-year-old asked the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for a NOC to exit the side a day after being named in the Bengal squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand in Bengaluru from June 6.

"Here, I'm representing Gujarat so my home ground is Motera Stadium, I believe in that. Since I'm no longer with KKR, Eden is not my home," Saha said in a virtual media interaction, as per PTI. On being further asked if he will be seen playing for Bengal at the Eden Gardens again, Saha said, “I might have played a lot of games here in the past but I’m here to play an away game”.

Saha is currently at loggerheads with CAB after he was named in the Ranji Trophy squad without his consent. He was annoyed that the CAB assistant secretary Debabrata Das questioned his commitment after Saha pulled out of the league stage of the Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, Saha earlier made headlines for revealing that Team India head coach Rahul Dravid conveyed to him that they are looking at a younger alternative for Rishabh Pant. 

Wriddhiman Saha speaks about his Team India selection chances

Saha has been eventually left out of the India Test squad for the fifth Test match against England and on being asked about his selection chances in the national team, he said he doesn’t want to think it anymore. “It’s always team first for me and not individual performance. I don’t think about (India team) selection as we are here to play the Qualifier One. All our focus is on the match,” Saha added.

It is pertinent to mention that Saha has been in a purple patch since joining the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. He has scored 312 runs in nine games so far with an average of 39.00 and the highest knock of 68 runs. He has also hit three half-centuries and sits fourth in the highest scorers list of GT, despite missing five games.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)