I am not exposing the name for the time being, but: Wriddhiman Saha warns journalist

Tags: India, Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha, BCCI

Published on: Feb 22, 2022

India wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha has clarified that he will not reveal the identity of the journalist who sent him a threatening message. Many from the Indian cricket fraternity asked Saha to name and shame the scribe after he shared the screenshot of the bullying message sent to him on social media.

On Tuesday, Saha took to his official Twitter account and stated that he will not reveal the name of the journalist in question on grounds of "humanity". His post read, "I was hurt and offended. I thought not to tolerate such kind of behaviour and didn’t want anyone to go through these kind of bullying. I decided I will go out and expose the chat in public eye, but not his/her name.”

"My nature isn't such that I will harm anyone to the extent of ending someone’s career. So on grounds of humanity looking at his/her family, I am not exposing the name for the time being. But if any such repetition happens, I will not hold back.

"I thank each and everyone who has shown support and extended their willingness to help. My gratitude," he added.

As per the chat shared by Saha, the journalist apparently threatened the experienced keeper for not giving him an interview, claiming that he had felt insulted. Saha has given quite a few interviews after he was dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka. He revealed that he was told he would not be considered for India again. Saha also stated that head coach Rahul Dravid suggested him to think about retirement.

Meanwhile, the Indian Cricketers Association backed Saha and released a statement, condemning the threat message sent to Saha. ICA head Ashok Malhotra said in the statement, "We acknowledge the fact that the media plays a very important role both in the growth of our game and the players but there's always a line that must never be crossed. What has happened in Saha's case is totally unacceptable and we call for the respective press organisations too to take up the matter and ensure such things are not repeated.”

"At the ICA our foremost concern is the welfare of cricketers, past and present, and we cannot accept such behaviour from anyone let alone a journalist," the statement added.

Hitesh Majumdar, the ICA Secretary added, "We would offer our full support to Saha at this juncture. No player should be subjected to such 'threats' from anyone in the media or elsewhere. We urge the media also to come out in support of Saha and ensure that these sorts of issues don't crop up again. Any interaction between a player and the media has always to be voluntary."

Saha has featured in 40 Tests for India and has scored 1353 runs at a strike rate of 29.41.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

Related News