M.S. Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket is immense. He is known as ‘Captain Cool’ and holds numerous records.
In the last decade, his cool temperament under tense situations has led us to many victories. Dhoni exudes confidence on field and veils his emotions. So, what is it that makes our ‘Captain Cool’ angry and why is he sarcastic about the media in the post-match press conferences? Dhoni ko gussa kyo aata hai ?
Being in a democratic country, should Dhoni restrict himself from expressing his emotions with the media or is it the media that has to draw a line of how personal it can get when it interviews a performer like him?
Despite his successful record, the media has been persistently questioning Dhoni about his retirement since past two months.
In a cricket-mad country like India, ‘Men in Blue’ are adored by their fans.
This is an era of social media. Thanks to the power of the online world, rumour has credence without journalists being involved. The people are obsessed with both, professional and personal details. This is the reason why journalists today follow up on the rumours circulating around. But, how fair is this to the players?
Cricket is a religion here, anything less than a win isn’t appreciated. Whenever India loses a match, the defeat is seen as a national tragedy generating a lot of criticism for players. Sometimes the criticism becomes very harsh prompting to several changes and resignations. It is the media which is the link between these players and the masses. It is their job to stick to the facts of the game in a post-match conference.
Hardly any questions regarding the game played are asked. The players have the right to feel that their image is being tarnished systematically.
The public trusts the material presented to them without checking the authenticity. Due to this, there have been several instances in the past where so many captains have lost their jobs.
When Bishan Singh Bedi lost a series in Pakistan in 1978, he was sacked. In 1979, when Venkatraghavan lost a series in England, the enthusiastic pilot of the national airline announced his sacking and replacement on the flight back to India!
Sensationalisation of newsEverything in Indian media is sensationalised these days. They bombard the players with tangential questions and pry into their personal life.
The players have no objection to criticism but when their efforts are undermined with sarcasm or blatant lies, they react angrily.
Virat Kohli is a fine example of the same. He has been breaking records and playing well consistently. But instead of commending his performance, the media gave his relationship with an actress more relevance just to spice up the news — so much so that he had to issue a statement on the social media!
There have been cases when the players have handled the media with their wit and sarcasm. In 1961, when the doyen of sports journalism, E.W. Swanton asked Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi about his comeback to international cricket after he lost the left eye in an accident, Pataudi sarcastically replied, “When I read the names of the members of the MCC team going to India, I thought it’s the right time to play for my country.”
In 1977-78, before the selection of the Indian team for the Australian tour, a journalist campaigned for a player from his State and attacked a talented young batsman from the West zone alleging that the player suffered from a slipped disc. Although the player scored 175 in the semifinal and 137 in the final of the Duleep Trophy, a BCCI official after reading about the slipped disc, promptly took the player to a senior orthopaedic surgeon after his knock of 137.
The player was cleared and sent on tour where he scored a lot of runs.
On his return, when the same journalist called to congratulate him, pat came the reply, “Thank you. But I scored all those runs with a slipped disc.”
Performing in international cricket isn’t child’s play. As the record suggests, Dhoni has been marshalling his resources superbly regardless of the team at his disposal. When he leads the team to victory, he is not even given the credit he deserves; they just say — Dhoni was lucky to win!
In 1971, when Ajit Wadekar beat the West Indies and England, he too was labelled as a lucky captain. The fact that the captain has to have plan A and B to fill the slots he needs; considering the form and fitness of players given; the conditions the team is going to encounter is conveniently forgotten.
There was a time, till the 80’s, when there was no friction between the journalists and the players. They would socialise at the end of day’s play. There was a rapport between the media and players.
It still does in other countries such as England and Australia where the journalists are like the support staff for the team. They back them up and laud them for their efforts in the game. But in India, there is a wall of mistrust between the two.
Mutual understanding is the only way to bridge the gap and that can happen only by keeping the rumours aside, and sticking to the facts of the game.
