Cricket – Team India
Guwahati: As darkness of the night fell over the Guwahati Nehru Stadium, with still a while to go for the clock to strike 5 pm, a group of journalists jammed about on the turf, waiting for a representative from the Indian team to show up for the mandatory post-match press conference.
The media manager of the Assam Cricket Association Pabitra Gogoi, informed them that not a single player from the Indian team was present to address the questions of the press conference. Chief coach Gary Kirsten, who was jogging laps around the ground, ignored requests to speak to the media.
This wasn’t the first instance of the Blue brigade entirely skipping a post-match press conference. At the end of a one day match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on their Sri Lankan tour in August this year, the players kept the media persons waiting for an hour and a half for their football kick-about to end. They gave up in the end, and trudged back to the press box, and were forced to do so again here on Sunday.
“For any of the ICC events, the post-match press conference is mandatory for both the sides. The losing captain will attend it first, and then the winning team’s captain and finally the man of the match,” said Sami ul Hasan, Communications Officer, International Cricket Council. He also stated that the matter will be looked into hereafter as this is the second time in a year such a thing has happened.
“Since this is a bilateral series, you must contact the BCCI. I’m not aware of any such regulations. As of now, I cannot comment on this,” said Ratnakar Shetty, Chief Administrative Officer for the Board of Cricket Control in India.
Earlier, New Zealand’s acting skipper Ross Taylor stated that Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate Virat Kohli’s ton left him with mixed emotions. “I’ve followed his career with great interest, having played with him in Bangalore. He’s from a special breed of players,” he said. “The way he’s played for India in the last 12-18 months has been simply marvellous.
“I’m sure, if he continues to bat the way he did today, he would definitely seal his place in the Test squad for India. It’s good to see him scoring a hundred but a little more disappointing that he scored it against us which led to our defeat” Taylor said. Ross also mentioned that he was glad to get runs under his belt here, after a mediocre Test series.
Tags: BCCI, Cricket, Gary Kirsten, Guwahati Nehru Stadium, ICC, India, Indian Sports, Indian Team, International Cricket Council, Journalists, New Zealand, Press Conference, Sports, Sports India
