Former Australia National Cricket Team player Michael Clarke talked about the tensions between the India National Cricket Team and the Australian media in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Michael Clarke said that there’s nothing to be surprised about as the same things have happened in the past.
India team having serious issues with the Australian media
It all started after Virat Kohli was involved in a heated exchange with the Australian media personnel at the Melbourne airport. The batter got furious after the media was filming without his permission and he was seen giving a good thrashing to officials.
After that Ravindra Jadeja became the target as the all-rounder was accused of not answering the questions in English. The all-rounder attended the media for a short time and had to leave because the team bus was leaving. This saw Australian media making a big issue.
They even had a heated argument with the India media manager, who then boycotted the friendly match with the Australian counterparts. After that, they accused the Indian team of deliberately sending Akash Deep to the media as the fast bowler isn’t fluent in speaking in English.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke gave his honest take on the controversy surrounding Ravindra Jadeja’s pre-match press conference. It was the first media interaction before the Boxing Day Test, where Jadeja answered his questions in Hindi, and the Australian media persons were miffed by that. The BCCI media team informed that Jadeja would not be able to take questions in English as they had to “catch the bus.” The Australian media lashed Jadeja for not giving answers in English as it became the topic of discussion in the local media houses.
Leading channel Channel 7 carried out a report full of twisted facts and blamed Jadeja for “refusing” to answer questions in English. In reality, the Indian all-rounder had no role in it. The press meet was largely for the travelling Indian media, and hence, all the questions were asked in Hindi. Jadeja, obviously being more comfortable in that language, answered in Hindi.
Meanwhile, Michael Clarke was not surprised by Jadeja’s press conference. Michael Clarke said that in the past, MS Dhoni didn’t address the media ahead of matches, and the same was true for Sachin Tendulkar.
Michael Clarke drags MS Dhoni into Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja vs Australian media controversy during BGT 2024-25 series
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke remarked that he was not surprised by India’s evasive media tactics during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The local journalists were left fuming during the build-up to the Boxing Day Test after all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja delivered a pre-match press conference entirely in Hindi, while fielding questions only from the Indian journalists.
A similar trend was observed when pace bowler Akash Deep was sent out to address the media. The Australian media were under the scanner after Virat Kohli confronted a few journalists at the Melbourne airport for allegedly filming his family without permission.
Things escalated so far that Team India’s media manager got involved too, and the well-spirited friendly game between the journalists contingent was also cancelled amid the unrest and tension.
Michael Clarke recalled how MS Dhoni did not address the media at all during an entire tour when he was leading the team.
“I don’t think much has changed, to be honest. I’ve experienced Indian teams coming here, and their captain, MS Dhoni, didn’t do one press conference during the entire Test series. So, Sachin was very restrictive around when he chose to do media. I think it’s been the same for a long time. So, I like the fact they’re still putting someone up,” Clarke said on ESPN’s Around the Wicket show.
Michael Clarke also added that India have stuck to their well-rehearsed game plan regarding their off-field demeanor from the word go. Gautam Gambhir had set the tempo with a fiery press conference while departing from India, where he targeted Ricky Ponting over his comments on Virat Kohli’s form.
“I think they made it pretty clear before they left India what they were going to be like when they arrived in Australia. They’re going to stick to themselves, stick to their plan. Gambhir made that very clear in the first press conference. So, I don’t know why anybody’s surprised, and for them, it’d be about what’s happening on the field, not off the field. So, I don’t think even the chat around it would be bothering India too much,” Clarke added.
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma addressed the media earlier today (Tuesday, December 24) ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The former wicketkeeper-batter was asked about his retirement plan by an Australian journalist after India were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup against the West Indies in Mumbai. MS Dhoni had famously invited the journalist behind the mic on the platform and made him answer his own question, leaving the rest of the media contingent in splits.