Wriddhiman Saha granted NOC by CAB; officially leaves Bengal cricket team

Wriddhiman Saha has been granted his NOC by the CAB. He has officially left Bengal and is free to play for a different team in the domestic circuit.

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Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha has been in some controversy of late regarding his profession, with both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). While he had alleged that the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Team India head coach Rahul Dravid did not give him enough encouragement, he had sought a move away from the CAB. In contrast, the CAB delayed his No Objection Certificate (NOC). However, the CAB has not granted him the NOC, as he has officially left the Bengal cricket team, making him eligible to play for a domestic side as per his choice.

"Mr Wriddhiman Saha came to CAB and, in an application to President Avishek Dalmiya, sought the NOC from the association. CAB gave concurrence to the request of Mr Saha and provided the NOC to him for playing for another state. CAB also wished him the very best for his future endeavours," read a statement from the CAB.

Saha decided to leave Bengal after CAB joint secretary Debabrata 'Debu' Das alleged that he made excuses to skip playing matches for the side. Saha was irate and demanded an unconditional apology from Das, which he didn't get. Saha reportedly held talks for a player-cum-mentor role with Tripura. Yet, a top official argued that he had demanded an "exorbitant fee" for the position.

"There has been no development so far after he asked for an exorbitant fee apart from the regular match fees [₹2.4 lakh per match]. Tripura is currently mired in problems between two faction groups, and there is an ongoing case in the High Court against the current establishment. Elections are due in September," the official told PTI.

Saha made his debut against Hyderabad in 2007 and has since featured in 122 First-Class (FC) and 102 List-A games. He has also gone on to play 40 Tests and nine One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India.