india vs england T20 World Cup highlights.
NOTTINGHAM - London : It was supposed to be a routine pre-match media conference; but it turned out to be nothing but a well-orchestrated and long drawn out
soap opera.
The media was waiting for captain MS Dhoni to address them ahead of their opening match against Bangladesh here at Trent Bridge on Saturday. But what they got, after a 15-minute wait, was the entire Indian team, plus the 11-member support staff too.
Dhoni carried a hand-written statement for moral support. He took the centre chair, like always, while team manager V Chamundeshwarnath sat grimly to his left. The others stood behind them, smiled nervously and struck happy poses for the shutterbugs and TV cameras.
The entire purpose behind this drama was, of course, to signify team unity ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup. It became even more apparent when Dhoni read out the statement which sought to dismiss TOI’s Friday report of a possible rift between himself and Virender Sehwag.
It was almost similar to the scenes that were enacted ahead of India’s World Cup match against Zimbabwe in 2003.
Following the team’s humiliating defeat against Australia, fans in the country had gone on a rampage, even destroying players’ homes and property. Then, Sachin Tendulkar, a national hero, too read out a brief statement, urging the fans to calm down and have faith in the team.
That was a different context, of course. This time, even though there are rumours about differences between the captain and vice-captain, the situation hadn’t gone out of hand. Dhoni, however, probably understands the significance of such a fallout, especially if the team fails to defend the title.
The drama, however, wasn’t the only shock for the media. Dhoni led the entire team away as soon as the statement was read, without even bothering for the press conference. A few complained about the skipper’s disregard for ICC rules, which stipulate that the captain and coach (or any member of the team) must address the media before and after every game.
The ICC officials themselves were stumped by the team’s conduct and quietly faced the wrath of the angry press contingent. They said, "What can we do? We don’t control the Indian team." They soon got into damage control mode, though, and Gary Kirsten eventually appeared for the briefing.
Kirsten, a dour opening batsman in his heydays, got into an aggressive mode. "When we get accused of infighting it hurts us. That doesn’t happen in this team. Certainly in my time, it (infighting) has never happened. It just hurt a little bit. We wanted to send a message across to the Indian people that this team is really unified. We have been for a long time now," he said.
He even chose the occasion to preach the virtues and needs of responsible reporting. "The players understand that there is a place for the media. At the same time I think there is a responsibility on both sides. We play positive cricket and we try and win games. From the media’s side, it is important that they report responsibly," he said.
But why did the team come up with such a farcical response? "It was a collective decision to show the Indian fans that our players are united. It was a risk drawing attention to the issue in this way but it’s not going to affect us. What it’s done is motivated the players and made them more determined. It’s given us more direction in terms of what we want to achieve for the Indian people," was Kirsten’s explanation.
What he, of course, conveniently ignored was the fact that a member of the team management himself had leaked details about the ‘tiff’ between the captain and vice-captain to a section of the media. Sehwag’s injury and Dhoni’s curious comments on his availability after the warm-up game against Pakistan only added fuel to the controversy.
Kirsten’s comments on Sehwag’s availability, however, did not exactly douse the fire. "No one is certain of a place in the playing XI. Everyone knows that and they respect that. We run with what we think is the best option and what’s really nice about this team is that everyone backs everyone else in terms of the decision," Kirsten said.
And they want the media to believe that.
