CWC 19: Media unhappy with Team India- Here's why
The Indian media contingent present in England, for the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019, was left disappointed prior to the nation's opening match against South Africa on June 5. Traditionally, one sees a team member or a senior figure turn up for the pre-match presser, but Men In Blue decided to send their net-bowler before the match against Proteas. Here's what happened.
What's the heart of the matter?
Team India decided to send its net bowlers for the presser. This, in turn, saw the media contingent boycott the interaction session completely. One expected to see either coach Ravi Shastri or a senior player present for the session, but that didn't happen. Interestingly, this has been the norm in any bilateral series with skipper Virat Kohli coming on the pre-match day.
Team India's reasoning and how the media reacted
The reason given by the Indian team media manager was that net bowlers Avesh Khan and Deepak Chahar are set to return back on Tuesday, hence, it was decided that they should get a chance to interact. Livid with the decision, the waiting journalists decided to cancel the session. They felt it would be unfair for both the journalists and the two net bowlers.
Media manager's comment serves no logic
Interestingly, the media manager also said that no senior player was made available due to the fact that India haven't started their World Cup campaign. The logic is unreasonable and it left the contingent miffed.
Indian team and its relation with the media in 2015
In 2015 World Cup, the Indian media contingent that travelled to Australia and New Zealand, was left frustrated on many occasions. Unlike other teams, the Indian side failed to host regular interaction sessions during the tourney. Reports claimed that the team was ordered the same by the the BCCI. The media manager back then hardly informed the journalists about the interaction sessions.
Team India should share a better relation with travelling journalists
The Indian team should be more friendlier with the travelling media contingent. Other Asian teams such as Bangladesh and Pakistan share a better rapport. Also, one should avoid the mistakes of 2015 in this year's World Cup. It remains to be seen, how the team decides to conduct the upcoming sessions. One hopes that these issues are sorted out soon.
