BCCI working actively after Wriddhiman Saha controversy, looking to setup grievance address desk to probe into players’ complaints: Reports

The Wriddhiman Saha controversy has sent the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on alert. After the Indian cricketer received threatening messages from a journalist, the Indian cricket board is on its toes about the safety of players and support staff. In the same light, the board is looking to set up a grievance address desk for every member.

According to a report in the Times of India, the top brass in the Indian cricket board have seriously discussed the matter and have come up with the conclusion that grievances of every player, selector, coach, support staff, and official need to be probed. The report also claims that the board members have found a few issues that the players are reluctant to share.

So, they are mulling over appointing a neutral party to carry out the grievance address process as the players are likely to feel free to share every detail. “It’s not just about Saha alone. Every player needs to be heard. For this, you need a neutral party to carry out such a process. But for that, you will first need consent from every stakeholder,” a BCCI source was quoted saying.

“There have been players who have come to certain officials with their grievances regarding their perceptions in the media. Each of them needs to be probed. Even ex-coaches and support staff will need to be spoken to. If everyone is on board then an agency could be hired to speak to everyone and get a clear idea,” the source adds.

Saha reluctant to reveal the name

The decision from BCCI to appoint a neutral party to address the grievances may be right as Saha has refused to reveal the name of the journalist who sent threatening messages to him. Although the cricketer claims that he has not been contacted by the board yet, he has said that he will not do so to bring a person down.

“I haven’t received any communication from the BCCI yet. If they ask me to reveal the name (of the journalist), I would tell them, it was never my intention to harm somebody’s career, to pull a person down. That’s why I didn’t reveal the name in my tweet. That’s not the teaching of my parents. The main purpose of my tweet was to expose the fact that there’s someone in the media who does such things, disrespecting a player’s wish,” Saha told The Indian Express.