KOLKATA: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has asked veteran stumper Wriddhiman Saha to play "one last match" for his home state Bengal before retiring, Tripura Cricket Association joint secretary Jayant Dey said on Monday.
The 39-year-old player, who joined Tripura in 2022 after a rift with some Cricket Association of Bengal officials, met Ganguly here.
"Ganguly wants Saha to retire after playing at least one last match for Bengal. Saha told me this. But he has not yet sought NOC (No Objection Certificate) from Tripura," Dey said.
"We have recently given NOC to Sudip Chatterjee who is ready to return to Bengal but Saha has not asked for it yet," he said.
It remains to be seen whether Saha can play for Siliguri Strikers in the Benga Pro T20 Franchise League, starting from June 11, even though the draft of players for the teams is over.
Their meeting comes two years after Saha hit out at the Ganguly-led BCCI for not being selected for India's home Test series against Sri Lanka.
He revealed a private conversation between himself and head coach Rahul Dravid in the dressing room regarding his future, saying that he should "think about retirement". H had further claimed that Ganguly had assured him of a "place" in the team.
Saha then decided not to play for Bengal after a senior official, Debabrata Das, questioned his commitments, leading to another fallout.
Saha also left the Bengal team's WhatsApp group and joined Tripura. The then CAB president Avishek Dalmiya tried to invite Saha back to Bengal but he remained adamant.
The 39-year-old player, who joined Tripura in 2022 after a rift with some Cricket Association of Bengal officials, met Ganguly here.
"Ganguly wants Saha to retire after playing at least one last match for Bengal. Saha told me this. But he has not yet sought NOC (No Objection Certificate) from Tripura," Dey said.
"We have recently given NOC to Sudip Chatterjee who is ready to return to Bengal but Saha has not asked for it yet," he said.
It remains to be seen whether Saha can play for Siliguri Strikers in the Benga Pro T20 Franchise League, starting from June 11, even though the draft of players for the teams is over.
Their meeting comes two years after Saha hit out at the Ganguly-led BCCI for not being selected for India's home Test series against Sri Lanka.
He revealed a private conversation between himself and head coach Rahul Dravid in the dressing room regarding his future, saying that he should "think about retirement". H had further claimed that Ganguly had assured him of a "place" in the team.
Saha then decided not to play for Bengal after a senior official, Debabrata Das, questioned his commitments, leading to another fallout.
Saha also left the Bengal team's WhatsApp group and joined Tripura. The then CAB president Avishek Dalmiya tried to invite Saha back to Bengal but he remained adamant.
