Cricket is certainly one of the most loved games of India so it is quite obvious that the Indian cricketers get a lot of love from their fans and followers. However, this can create some problems for the cricketers because not just their fans but mediapersons also want to know each and every detail of their lives and every word spoken by the cricketers is not just listened properly but it is analyzed as well and people try to interpret it in the manner best suited to them.
Cricketers attending press conferences is a pretty common thing nowadays but sometimes these press conferences don’t go as expected and today we will let you know about four press conferences which either created controversies or cleared the air regarding an existing controversy.
1. Virat Kohli-Sourav Ganguly captaincy saga:
Virat Kohli made it clear to everyone that he would be quitting T20I captaincy after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. He cited workload pressure and said that he wanted to focus more on his game; however he also stated that he would lead the team in ODIs and test matches. Nevertheless, Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as the ODI skipper before the team was announced for the South Africa tour and it didn’t go well with fans of King Kohli and they slammed the BCCI for treating the most successful skipper in this manner. During an interview, the then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that he asked Virat Kohli not to quit captaincy but the latter called a press conference ahead of the South Africa tour and contradicted the statement made by the former which created a storm in Indian cricketing circles.
https://twitter.com/ein_scofield/status/1471041610464989184
2. IPL 2013 Spot Fixing:
IPL started in 2008 and soon it became one of the most loved and most popular sporting events of the world but after 5 years of its inception, in IPL 2013, things turned worse as three cricketers were arrested by police on the charges of intentional foul play. This was not the first time that the Indian cricket got tainted because of match-fixing as earlier in 2001, a match fixing scandal was unearthed in which few Indian cricketers were found guilty. In IPL 2013, a press conference was conducted by Delhi Police in which they shared all the details related to spot fixing which was taking place and three cricketers including S Sreesanth of IPL team Rajasthan Royals were arrested by cops.
3. The rift between MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag:
The news or rumours of rift between the senior players of the Indian team are quite common. As far as the current Indian team is concerned, many times we have heard that things are not on good terms between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but the players have denied all such rumours. During the 2009 T20 World Cup, there was news of a rift between MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag and in order to make things clear, MS Dhoni came with the whole team along with the support staff in a press conference. He quashed all the rumours of rift between him and Viru Paaji and held media responsible for such misleading reports.
4. Sachin Tendulkar and ball tampering allegation:
Sachin Tendulkar is no less than the God for the Indian cricket fans and the dignity with which Little Master has played over the years, it is highly difficult to believe that he can indulge in any wrong activity. However in 2001 test match between India and South Africa which was played at Port Elizabeth, the match referee Mike Denness found Sachin guilty of ball tampering based on the camera footage and banned him for one test match and charged 75% fine on his match fees. Mike Denness also banned 5 other Indian players for one test match and charged 75% fine on their match fees for various offences. In his defense, Sachin Tendulkar stated that he was cleaning the seam of the ball and he accepted that he forgot to inform the umpires about it but he refused to accept the charges of ball tampering. The on-field umpires inspect the ball on regular intervals in order to confirm that ball tampering is not happening and Sachin Tendulkar asked match referee Mike Denness to consult the on-field umpires in this regard but Mike was not interested in talking to the umpires and for him, the camera footage was sufficient enough to take a decision.
BCCI had to intervene in this matter and they made it clear to ICC that if Mike Denness is not removed from the third test match and ban is not lifted from the 6 players, they will boycott the third test match. South African cricket board removed Mike Denness and 5 Indian cricketers got rid of the ban but Virender Sehwag’s ban was not lifted. Later on, Mike Denness came in a press conference but refused to answer any questions. The former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri who was a part of the commentary panel asked that if Mike Denness can’t answer any questions, why he is here because everyone knows how he looks.
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Do you think we missed any? Do let us know.