There had been a lot of talk on Virat Kohli’s relationship with the Team India players soon after he had announced his decision to relinquish T20I captaincy following the T20 World Cup. Reports of some of the senior players allegedly complaining to the BCCI against the captain’s attitude also surfaced.
But wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who has been sharing the India dressing room with Kohli for many years now, has no complaints about the captain.
In his decade-long Test career, Saha has come across as a man of few words. But on this matter, the Bengal stumper did not hold back while expressing his opinion.
“Personally, I haven’t had any problem in expressing myself before Virat or for that matter, Ajinkya (Rahane, when he led India in three Tests Down Under last season). Now each one of them is different.
“There are some people who listen to others’ opinions, while there are others who do as per their own wishes. We also come across some who prefer to speak to a couple of other individuals before taking a call. So everyone cannot be the same,” Saha told The Telegraph.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Team India’s mentor for the T20 World Cup, interacts with the coaching staff in Dubai on Sunday. The picture, tweeted by the BCCI, was captioned: “Extending a very warm welcome to the KING.” Picture courtesy: BCCI
“And for those constantly trying to find out problems with Virat, I guess we have to leave it to them as to what exactly they’ve been able to identify,” the 36-year-old said.
Had there been serious concerns about Kohli’s attitude and approach, others would not have been comfortable in sharing off-the-field space with him, especially when playing online games with the captain during tours, Saha pointed out.
“See, the very aspect of approach varies from one individual to another. I’ve never felt it’s difficult to approach Virat.
“When a person voluntarily goes to another individual’s room and joins in for a session of PlayStation, how can he be difficult to approach? And then he (Virat) calls up another teammate and asks that guy to join as well. That’s possible only if one’s approachable,” Saha explained.
“When I first joined the Indian team, there were superstars like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. As I said, the nature of each and every player varies and is different. You can’t expect the star players to always come and talk with you unless you go up to them.
“Obviously, they will speak to you if a relevant topic has been raised. But unless you go up to them and speak about the things you want to address, how can they help you? They do communicate about the basics of the game though.
“So if any player, or for that matter if some of the juniors, are hesitant in approaching him, then I think it’s their problem. They need to find out why they are being hesitant,” Saha added.
Domestic matches
Set to resume training from October 22, Saha will be available for Bengal in the initial matches at least of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy beginning next month. “I’ll certainly be available for the first few matches, till the New Zealand series begins,” he said.
Even at this stage of his career, domestic cricket continues to assume significance for Saha. “I don’t know how many matches I’ll be able to play this season, but there won’t be any compromise when it comes to intensity because to me, these are as important as international games.
“In fact, for a sportsperson, each and every game that he plays is important. Just because I have represented my country, it doesn’t mean I’ll not put in the same effort when I play for my state or my club.
“Yes, I’ll have to be back in the bubble soon, but without that, it’s not possible for us to play these matches given current the situation,” Saha, at present holidaying with family in Goa, said.
