Trouble in West Bengal? – Culture in Sports

What is going on in Bengal cricket? That’s what I want to know… For the second time in a span of two years, I have had to see a veteran cricketer leave the team I love due to problems with a coach or board member. Both cricketers have previously made the state proud by being able to represent the Indian national team, a high honor. However, for some reason, they are being mistreated by their own countrymen who hold important positions… It pains me, as an ardent Bengal cricket team supporter of 20 years, to see guys of this caliber have to leave the team! I want to get to the bottom of this and take my audience on a journey as well.

Ashok Dinda

What Happened?

It seems like what’s being pushed out is that Dinda verbally abused his bowling coach, Ranadeb Bose, his former teammate. It happened during a pre-match practice session, and he was given an opportunity to apologize by the evening time but he didn’t. Due to this, he was dropped from the Bengal squad and did not really get another chance to come back into the side. The incident took place on December 24th, 2019, and he decided to officially close the book on his Bengal career on November 10th, 2020*. On September 28th, 2020, it was revealed that he would be representing Goa after he had gotten his No Objection Certificate (NOC) on August 26th, 2020. He eventually played three games in the 2020-21 season before retiring on February 2nd, 2021.

Upon further examination, it was revealed that Dinda lost it when he saw private discussions between Bose and the Bengal captain, Abhimanyu Easwaran. He was reportedly also involved in fallouts with head coach Arun Lal and chief selector Palash Nandy. Those incidents occurred during the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMA Trophy), in which he did not get to participate. This caused him to have a fallout with the team management, and he also did not want to join the team for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. December 19th, 2019 was his last game in Bengal colors, and it was a Ranji Trophy match against Kerala.

After just one game in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season, Bengal had to issue a new 15-man roster to exclude Dinda from all further matches. “Reliable sources” said that Dinda’s disciplinary reasons were why he was excluded, even going on to give two notable quotes about the situation. “There was no other way but to expel him from the squad,” said someone in the know of things. “He has been abusive towards the team’s bowling coach Ranadeb Bose for many months. “Today, he kind of crossed all limits by hurling abuses at Ranadeb in front of all the players. Ranadeb then lodged a written complaint about the matter to the CAB after which an apology was sought from Dinda. He was given enough opportunities to rectify himself.”

Hearing the other side: Dinda responds

Both sides of the story need to be told, however, and that’s not always done all the time. It seems like Dinda is being made out to be a villain here, someone who made a clear and unnecessary mistake and chose not to apologize. Did people ever think to realize why he had to act this way, to begin with? Sure, it doesn’t help his cause that he chose to yell expletives in Bose’s direction, but it still doesn’t justify the way he was being treated by not only Bose but also Lal. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) isn’t completely faultless either, as they “again didn’t bother to inform [him] that [he has] been dropped… [He h]ad to learn from another source.”

Dinda “maintain[ed] that [he hasn’t] done anything wrong” and had more to say about Bose. Bose prioritizes “commentary and other stuff” and that it “even left VVS Laxman surprised (batting consultant for CAB’s Vision 2020) last season.” On June 21st, 2020, he was officially looking for other opportunities, with Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, and Goa being in the mix to add him. It definitely hurt him to leave, but he had no other choice. “I have been associated with Bengal cricket for many years, and it has been my life, I have the best memories of my time with the team,” he said. “I will not stop loving Bengal, but I can’t play for them again. It’s finished. I wanted to end my career with Bengal, but I don’t have a choice now.”

An interview with ESPNcricinfo’s Shamya Dasgupta helped Dinda clear the air a bit more about what happened. He was able to delve into more of the specifics that really no other source talked about. Even in the interview, he was able to be diplomatic before he got into the nitty-gritty. He opines that his skills and performance were not the reason why he was being pushed out of the side. It seems that Dinda had his own personalized routine that he was following, which Lal did not like because he wanted Dinda to do the same things the rest of the team were doing. Dinda talked about the past instances of Bose’s bad behavior while the two were teammates, and also when Bose was named the bowling coach. Finally, we come to Nandy, who “owed no reason” as to why Dinda was being dropped for the SMA Trophy team, which caused more arguments.

What’s wrong with the management?

From all this, what I can really gather is that there is something fishy going on with the Bengal management. I am just curious as to why these people think so highly of themselves and try to deprive their own team of a valuable asset. These so-called “reliable sources” from earlier, Lal, Bose, Nandy. Is it power that has gotten to their heads, like they feel like things should be their way or the highway? I do agree with Dinda’s perception that “it seems like a pre-planned thing, where everyone – selectors, coaching staff got together to sideline [him]”. I dislike the double standards that occurred with Bose. Ignoring his past transgressions against Dinda yet Dinda reacting against Bose is what’s the offense.

One of the worst situations in this matter came with Lal’s handling of Dinda after he hurled abuses toward Bose. “I [Dinda] did show him [Bose] respect as a coach, but not as a person. So I said a few things to him, I abused him too. That’s it! I was out. I became a disciplinary issue. I left the room, and I was told by Lalji [Arun Lal] to say sorry to Ranadeb Bose in front of the other players. I asked why and said, “you should first try to find out who was in the wrong”. He refused, so I told him, “Lalji, if that is the case, I don’t want to be a part of the team”. Why should I stay if I am not respected?”. Lal refused to look further. How come? Why was Dinda made out to be clearly at fault and no further investigation being taken to find out what exactly happened? Why were the words of Bose held higher, just because he’s a coach? Does that mean that coaches can do no wrong?

I don’t like that the Bose abuse incident is being given so much attention at face value. “He abused Ranadeb Bose. The CAB secretary requested him to apologise but he didn’t. It was very unfortunate. It shouldn’t have happened. A senior player like him… we desperately needed him for this game. He was ideally suited for this pitch (a green surface) and our planning. I left a little early after practice today and when I reached home, I got to know what happened. (Now) the entire planning is disturbed. Then again, the game goes on. Nobody is indispensable. Certainly I support the CAB’s decision,” Bengal coach Arun Lal told The Indian Express.” “Desperately needing a player” but not wanting to hear out his side of the story is not a sign of desperation, Mr. Lal. Players aren’t just robots whom you can use to play your games but then not care about their opinions.

Dinda signs off

Ultimately, Dinda was a victim of politics who was accused of “causing a rift within the team“… He had this to say in a SportsCafe article: “I will not be part of Bengal anymore, that’s for sure. It was a decision I had taken last season only. It’s my personal matter. You have seen what (actor) Sushant Singh Rajput [RIP] had to go through… Sob jagay eki jinish — (favouritism, politics are everywhere),” said Dinda, who represented India in 13 ODIs and nine T20Is, reported PTI.” “But I’m mentally strong and nobody can break me. I will play for some other state. I’ve got a few offers and discussions are on. But I’m yet to finalise which state I’m going to represent next season.” “I’m not happy playing here with this group of the coaching staff. The way I was treated, I’ve nothing to say. I’ve done the job for them and now I’m of no use. It’s a selfish world. I’ll definitely miss the home state, 100 percent, having played for so many years. I also missed them last year. But I’m in good terms with my former teammates… (CAB president) Avishek [Dalmiya] is very friendly and good-hearted. At times, I also speak to Dadi (Sourav Ganguly),” Dinda signed off.”

Dinda’s career

Dinda finished his Bengal career with 420 first-class (FC) wickets, 151 List A wickets, and 146 T20 wickets. He was quite good with Goa too, as he finished as their second-highest wicket-taker in the 2020-21 SMA Trophy. He is Bengal’s second-highest wicket-taker behind only Utpal Chatterjee’s 504 wickets. He has the most wickets in the Ranji Trophy (339) and SMA Trophy (57) for Bengal. Dinda’s 339 Ranji Trophy wickets are sixth-most all-time among fast bowlers. He even led Bengal in wickets multiple times, as well as once in bowling average and economy rate.

Wickets- Eight times in the Ranji Trophy (2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16¹, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19), thrice in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2008-09², 2009-10, 2015-16), and once in the SMA Trophy (2009-10³).
Bowl. avg.- Once in the Ranji Trophy (2017-18).
Econ.- Once in the SMA Trophy (2016-17).

For the Indian national team, he played 13 ODIs and nine T20Is and picked up 12 and 17 wickets respectively. Dinda had a great IPL career as well, picking up 68 wickets in 78 games across 10 seasons. He played for the following teams in the IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders (2008-10), Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals; 2011), Pune Warriors India (2012-13), Royal Challengers Bangalore (2014-15), and Rising Pune Supergiant (2016-17). He had a lengthy domestic cricket career that lasted 116 FC games, 98 List A games, and 147 T20 games, all spread out across 17 years (he debuted in 2005).

To get deeper into the bowling statistics to determine his effectiveness, we need to look at his bowling average (bowl. avg.) and economy rate (econ). Just to have a standard set for these statistics, I will be using the numbers I usually use to determine good bowl. avgs. and economy rates. In my opinion, these are the acceptable numbers to look at: Test/FC- 35.00 bowl. avg and 3.50 econ., ODI/List A- 30.00 bowl. avg. and 5.50 econ., and T20I/T20- 25.00 bowl. avg. and 8.00 econ. The lower the numbers for both stats are, the better the bowler is considered. Here’s how Dinda performed in his six formats: ODI- 51.00 bowl. avg. and 6.18 econ., T20I- 14.41 bowl. avg. and 8.16 econ., FC- 28.28 bowl. avg. and 3.09 econ., List A- 28.50 bowl. avg. and 5.16 econ., T20- 25.31 bowl. avg. and 7.68 econ, and IPL- 30.46 bowl. avg. and 8.23 econ.

He looks like a fantastic FC bowler, which means his skills could’ve translated quite well in Test cricket. Too bad he never got the call to do so. He is a much better List A bowler than he was in the ODIs, so those skills did not directly translate. His T20I bowl. avg. and his T20 econ. was under the limit I set, but it flip-flopped for his T20I econ. and T20 bowl. avg. Lastly, it seems as if his IPL stats were both higher than I would like them to be. At least it seemed like he was a decent wicket-taking option no matter what level he bowled at, which is usually what bowlers are required for. Bowlers usually don’t make good batters, so their batting statistics are usually on the lower side. None of Dinda’s batting stats are notable enough to be mentioned.

Awards won: 2008-09 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy (won with India Blue), 2010-11 SMA Trophy (won with Bengal), 2011-12 Duleep Trophy (won with East Zone), 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy (won with Bengal), 2012-13 Duleep Trophy (won with East Zone), 2014-15 Deodhar Trophy (won with East Zone), 2017-18 Duleep Trophy (won with India Red).

Other Achievements: Selected for East Zone in the 2006-07 Duleep Trophy⁴, selected for East Zone in the 2008-09 Duleep Trophy, selected for East Zone in the 2008-09 Deodhar Trophy⁵, selected for India Blue in the 2009-10 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy (NKPSCT), selected for East Zone in the 2009-10 Duleep Trophy, selected for East Zone in the 2009-10 Deodhar Trophy, took the most wickets (four) for India Red in the 2010-11 NKPSCT, selected for East Zone in the 2010-11 Duleep Trophy, selected for East Zone in the 2010-11 Deodhar Trophy, took the most wickets (22) in the 2011-12 Duleep Trophy, selected for East Zone in the 2013-14 Duleep Trophy, selected for Rest of India in the 2013-14 Irani Trophy, selected for East Zone in 2013-14 Deodhar Trophy, selected for East Zone in the 2014-15 Duleep Trophy, took the most wickets (six) in the 2014-15 Deodhar Trophy, selected for India Green in the 2016-17 Duleep Trophy, selected for India B in the 2016-17 Deodhar Trophy, selected for India Green in the 2018-19 Duleep Trophy.

Wriddhiman Saha

What Happened?

As if CAB didn’t learn from their lesson with Dinda, it seems like another similar incident happened this year as well… CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das had issues with Saha’s reasons for not wanting to participate in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season. Earlier, it had been indicated to Saha that his national team playing days were, more or less, over. As a result, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the 37-year-old decided to no longer play the longer format of domestic cricket, the Ranji Trophy. He was only a part of the Indian Test cricket team these days as their primary wicket-keeper, so there would be no real reason for him to continue to play Ranji Trophy matches if he were no longer being considered for international selection. His only incentive would be to stay fit and have enough game time for IPL matches, where he has had a good run of form lately.

However, he had personal reasons as to why he didn’t want to participate in the previous season. “It has got nothing to do with the selection. Some time ago my wife fell sick with dengue, and she hasn’t recovered fully. We have two young kids too. So I have to give my family some time too. I told the Cricket Association of Bengal clearly that I was not playing for personal reasons.” However, Das wouldn’t have any of it, saying that Saha “has no responsibility towards Bengali cricket” and that he should be playing for Bengal when his national duties are over.

The interesting twist here is that the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy was split into two phases: a league phase and a knockout phase. Saha was actually a part of the knockout phase squad, albeit it was done without his consent. He did not actually join Bengal, despite Avishek Dalmiya requesting Saha to reconsider his decision. It seems like the damage was already done with Das’ comments, as his wife said he was hurt and irritated by the whole situation. News 18 CricketNext reported: “Being a senior player, who has given so much to Bengal cricket, Wriddhi was hurt with such statements,” Saha’s wife Romi Mitra had told Sportstar.”

Saha’s Response

Here are some of the things he’s said to say about CAB’s treatment of him. “For me, too, it is a very sad feeling that I have to go through something like this after playing for Bengal for so long. It is disappointing that people make such comments and question your integrity. As a player, I had never faced such a thing in the past, but now that it has happened, even I need to (move on),” Saha told Sportstar.” “His integrity was questioned and he can’t play for an association which puts a question mark on his integrity itself.“

He decided his time at Bengal was up, so he applied for and got the NOC he required to play for a new state. It was indicated that he was looking for a player-mentor role at Tripura, and there wasn’t any certainty that there were any other teams looking to get him. In terms of dates, the earliest time that Das’ comments were heard was on February 25th, 2022. November 9th, 2021 was his last game in Bengal colors, and it was an SMA Trophy match against Karnataka. He got his NOC on July 2nd, 2022 and will be eligible to play for Tripura in the upcoming 2022-23 domestic season. He officially signed for them on July 8th, 2022. Reportedly, he will be part of the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy squads (no mention of the SMA Trophy), and there are talks of him being named the new captain of the team. If he does so, he would be taking over from another wicket-keeper, K.B. Pawan.

Management’s Double Standards

You have got to like the double standards set by the Bengal management here… Saha asks for an apology but he doesn’t get it. However, Dinda is asked to apologize to a coach and is villainized for not doing so. As long as you’re an official, you must have everything right done by you at all times, yet the players who are actually representing the state don’t get or deserve that same respect. With both these incidents, this is the message being portrayed by CAB. Why can Das get away with saying the words he did towards Saha but Dinda was required to apologize to Bose? I do appreciate that at least someone (Dalmiya) made an attempt to bring Saha back into the Bengal fray, but what good is bringing Saha back without a solution to the initial problem? Could CAB not have done more to make sure that things remained cordial with one of their main wicket-keepers and veteran players?

They decided to not pay heed to Saha’s requests, yet they wanted him back? You can’t have both, CAB, that’s not how life works! Even Saha himself said that the matter wasn’t that serious. However, you can’t ignore someone like they did, so Saha was hurt and had no dignity left. I also dislike that they didn’t ask for permission to name Saha in the squad for the knockout stages. That being said, I do understand that permission is usually not required for players to be named for squads, even though CAB says that Saha had only made himself unavailable for the group stage. They could’ve done more to check up on Saha to make sure his personal problems were solved before making a decision to bring him back to the team.

Here is something I wanted to point out from an Outlook India article: “An irate Saha wanted an unconditional apology from Das, which he didn’t get and when the official was sent as Indian team’s administrative manager to England, it broke the proverbial camel’s back. Talking to reporters after getting the NOC, Saha said he was requested again to reconsider his decision. “I was asked earlier. Requests have been made again and again today. But my decision has already been made. So today I took NOC,” he said. He further said he would never keep any grudge against Bengal and would be ready to serve again if needed in the future. “I never had any ego issues with Bengal cricket establishment. Maybe, there was a disagreement with someone (joint secretary Debu) [Das], that’s why I had to make this decision. I extend all my good wishes for Bengal. If I needed in the future, and if the situation is conducive then, I’m there for help,” Saha said.” See, both players (Dinda and Saha) can be diplomatic about their respective situations. Maybe this is something CAB officials can learn from to brush aside their egos! Both players are open to representing Bengal again in some form or another. This is their state, after all. They would’ve liked to end their careers here but CAB put them in tough spots for them to just sit back idly.

Saha’s Career

Saha scored 6,423 FC runs, 2,762 List A runs, and 3,967 T20 runs with Bengal. In addition, his time as a wicket-keeper and/or fielder netted him 313 FC catches, 125 List A catches, 123 T20 catches, 37 FC stumpings, 15 List A stumpings, and 35 T20 stumpings. This was all done over a course of 15 years (he debuted in 2007), 122 FC games, 102 List A games, and 220 T20 games. He has the second-most runs (1,442) and the most dismissals (47) for Bengal in the SMA Trophy. He led Bengal in batting average, strike rate, runs, catches, and stumpings multiple times.

Bat. avg.- Four times in the Ranji Trophy (2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2019-20¹¹) and thrice in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2006-07¹², 2007-08, 2011-12).
SR- Once in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2019-20) and twice in the SMA Trophy (2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15).
Runs- Twice in the Ranji Trophy (2008-2009¹³, 2012-13), twice in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2006-07, 2011-12), and once in the SMA Trophy (2009-10).
Catches- Six times in the Ranji Trophy (2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2017-18), seven times in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14), and four times in the SMA Trophy (2009-10¹⁴, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13¹⁵).
Stumpings- Nine times in the Ranji Trophy (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2019-20¹¹), four times in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13, 2014-15), and four times in the SMA Trophy (2013-14, 2014-15, 2018-19, 2021-22).

For the Indian national team, he played 40 Tests and nine ODIs. During his time, he hit 1,353 and 41 runs respectively, 92 and 17 catches respectively, and 12 and one stumpings respectively. Saha played well in the IPL, hitting 2,427 runs, making 79 catches, and conducting 22 stumpings in 144 games across 15 seasons. He played for the following teams in the IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders (2008-10), Chennai Super Kings (2011-13), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings; 2014-17), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2018-21), and Gujarat Titans (2022-present).

The ways to determine Saha’s statistical effectiveness come from his batting average (bat. avg.) and strike rate (SR). Just to have a standard to base those statistics, these are the numbers I use to determine good bat. avgs. and SRs: Test/FC- 50.00 bat. avg. and 50.00 SR, ODI/List A- 40.00 bat. avg. and 90.00 SR, and T20I/T20- 30.00 bat. avg. and 130.00 SR. The higher the numbers for both stats are, the better the batter is considered. This is how Saha did in his six formats: Test- 29.41 bat. avg. and 45.50 SR, ODI- 13.66 bat. avg. and 73.21 SR, FC- 41.98 bat. avg. and 48.11 SR, List A- 42.49 bat. avg. and N/A SR, T20- 25.10 bat. avg. and 129.55 SR, and IPL- 25.28 bat. avg. and 127.87 SR.

It looks like his international stats aren’t what I would ideally like in a batter. It seems that he plays a bit on the slower side, meaning he usually comes in for a holding/stonewalling role. At least his domestic statistics seem a little better, especially in List A. In T20s and the IPL, his strike rate is quite respectable, even if it doesn’t match what I want. My numbers are just ideal ones and I will usually call someone a good player if they can come close enough to matching them. His batting averages are not as high as I would’ve expected from someone of his caliber, but they can still be respectable. I just like a higher-scoring, faster brand of cricket and will usually not tolerate slowness. Saha has never bowled in his entire career, so he has no bowling stats to be listed.

Footnotes

*- This date was according to Wikipedia. I could not confirm it elsewhere through other sources.
¹– Tied with Pragyan Ojha.
²– Tied with Ranadeb Bose.
³– Tied with Shibsagar Singh and Saurasish Lahiri.
⁴– Please check the words ‘selected’ and ‘East Zone’ for links to scorecards.
⁵– Please check the words ‘selected’, ‘for’, and ‘East Zone’ for links to scorecards.
⁶– Please check the words ‘won’ and ‘East Zone’ for links to scorecards.
⁷– Substitute.
⁸– Please check the words ‘selected’, ‘for’, and ‘East Zone’ for links to scorecards.
⁹– Here are some more links about the series: an ESPNcricinfo article by Daniel Kuhn, another one by Jeremy Last, and a rediff News article.
¹⁰– Century.
¹¹– Albeit only in one game played.
¹²– Then known as the Ranji One-Day Trophy.
¹³– 2008-09 Ranji Trophy Plate League.
¹⁴– Tied with Manoj Tiwary.
¹⁵– Tied with Laxmi Ratan Shukla. The link on the word ‘tied’ does not list catches made by wicket-keepers.