“The easiest thing for me is to not have these conversations but that’s not who I am,” says India coach
Moments after India’s 3-0 series win over West Indies, Dravid was asked about the selection call and how he felt about a private conversation being played out the way it has, in public.
“I’m not hurt at all,” Dravid said. “I have a deep respect for Wriddhiman Saha and his achievements and contributions to Indian cricket. My conversation with him actually came from that place, from my respect for him. He deserved honesty and clarity. I didn’t want him to hear about it 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 all the messages or agree with everything I have to say about them. That’s not how it works. When you have difficult conversations with people – sometimes you have to have them with players – you don’t always expect them to agree with you or like you, but that doesn’t mean you brush it under the carpet and don’t have the conversations.”
“Before every playing XI is picked, even now, either me or Rohit will speak to the guys not playing and are open to answer questions on why they are not playing and what are the reasons a particular XI might play,” Dravid said. “It’s natural for players at times to get upset and feel hurt, but I just feel that because of the respect I have for them, my team deserved clarity and honesty, and that’s all I was trying to convey.”
Saha retained his place in India’s squad on the tour of South Africa, where he didn’t play a single Test, even as the chorus over the inclusion of a younger second wicketkeeper, Bharat, grew louder.
“Before every playing XI is picked, even now, either me or Rohit will speak to the guys not playing and are open to answer questions on why they are not playing and what are the reasons a particular XI might play.”
Rahul Dravid
India are scheduled to play five more Tests this year, two of which will be against Sri Lanka next month at home. The third Test, one that was postponed in Manchester last year following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp with India leading 2-1, will be played in England in July, while two are lined up in Bangladesh later in the year.
“We have only three Tests [five] this year and with Rishabh Pant having established himself as our No. 1-choice wicketkeeper, we were looking to groom a younger wicketkeeper,” Dravid explained. “That was it. This doesn’t change my feelings or respect for Wriddhi or his contribution.
“Like I said, the easiest thing for me is to not have these conversations or not speak to players about it, but that’s not who I am or what I am going to do. I don’t expect them to like it, but at some stage I hope they will respect the fact that I was at least able to front up and have these conversations with them.”
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
