Wriddhiman Saha and the cruelty of sports

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Editor's note: If Robert Ludlum were writing the book on this, he would have called it The Wriddhiman Wriggle. And it began (on Feb 19) with all the integral elements of a good thriller: A professional sportsman heart-sick over the knowledge that his gig at the highest level was over; an entitled, venal journalist; a stage set for a cataclysmic showdown. Cue collective angst. Fans demanded the name of the journalist, and his head on a platter, in that order. An array of yesteryear cricketers—all firing their guns off the India wicketkeeper’s convenient shoulder—demanded that Saha should out the name of the journalist. Never mind that most, if not all, of those ex-cricketers not only know who the journalist is, they have all dealt with him, in some form or fashion, during their playing days. BCCI secretary Jay Shah said he will be talking to Saha to find out the name of the journalist, so action could be taken. What course this “action” would take, Shah did not specify—which is a good thing, because there is no logical answer to that question. …