Aggrieved at their treatment in Australia over the past few days, sections of India’s backroom team and travelling media have boycotted a prearranged press match against local counterparts that was meant to be played on Sunday afternoon.
The game, scheduled to be played as a Twenty20 at Junction Oval in Melbourne, had been organised by Cricket Australia as a gesture of goodwill to both media packs amid a hectic summer.
An empty Junction Oval where the media game was due to be played.
But the game was cancelled on Sunday after the Indian team’s media manager chose not to take part, according to three sources with knowledge of the events, who would not be named in order to speak freely.
That led to numerous members of the travelling media contingent also pulling out, making it impossible to play a formal match. The BCCI was contacted for comment.
Earlier in the day, captain Rohit Sharma was hit on the knee by a throwdown at the MCG nets. After trying to bat on, he left his session and sought treatment from the team physio, in obvious pain.
Rohit Sharma after seeking treatment for a knee knock.Credit: Wayne Taylor
India’s Test squad has had a few run-ins with media and public on this tour, starting with stringent restrictions placed on spectators watching the team train in Perth ahead of the series. The restrictions extended to an email requesting that workers on the adjoining WACA Ground construction site refrain from taking photos or footage of training.
A public training session was called in Adelaide, but that led to a ban on further such sessions in Brisbane and Sydney after as many as 5000 fans turned up to watch. This was considered an unwanted distraction by the Indian team, causing subsequent sessions to be much lower in profile.
“The net sessions are very private,” Rohit explained in Adelaide. “This was the first time ever that I saw so many people at the nets. When you’re training and practicing, there are a lot of conversations and those conversations are very private.
