Irfan Pathan and Rahul Dravid were teammates in the Indian cricket team.© AFP
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan offered his backing to Indian cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid, without naming the latter, in a recent tweet amid the ongoing saga over wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha being dropped from the Test side. In a tweet posted on the micro-blogging plaform on Sunday, Pathan gave his backing to Dravid without naming him. “An honest coach Or someone just gives hope even after knowing that a player doesn’t fit in the scheme of things? Your opinion????? For me an honest coach ALWAYS!” wrote Pathan on Twitter. The tweet appeared to be a direct reference to the episode involving Dravid and Saha.
An honest coach Or someone just gives hope even after knowing that a player doesn’t fit in the scheme of things? Your opinion????? For me an honest coach ALWAYS!
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 20, 2022
Speaking to reporters in Kolkata on Saturday, Saha had said that he had been told by the Indian team management that he would no longer be considered for a place in the Test side.
“The team management had told me that I would not be considered henceforth. I could not tell this so long as I was part of the India team setup,” Saha said.
“Even coach Rahul Dravid suggested that I think about taking retirement,” he added.
A day later, after India’s victory over West Indies in the third T20I, Dravid addressed the post-match press conference and took questions on Saha’s comments.
“I’m actually not hurt at all. I have deep respect for Wriddhi and his achievements and his contribution to Indian cricket. My conversation came from that place. I think he deserved honesty and clarity,” Dravid said when asked whether he was hurt by Saha’s remarks.
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“It’s about conversations I constantly have with players. I don’t expect players to always agree with everything I say about them. That’s not how it works. You can have difficult conversations with the players, but that doesn’t mean you brush it under the carpet and don’t have the conversations,” said the former India captain.
“I always believe in having those conversations before every playing XI is picked and be open to questions such as why they are not playing. It’s natural for players to get upset and feel hurt,” Dravid added.
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