Anushka Sharma was staying in the same hotel as Virat Kohli during India’s tour of England last year. The news was broken by one of the finest national dailies in the country. They have for years dug out the most amazing stories on cricket in particular, and they continue to do so even today. For a rival organisation to say so, it is a big compliment in itself. However, with Dr RN Baba at the helm as the media manager, they were left with nothing more exotic to write about from the cricketing angle. (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full coverage)
All the money, time and energy spent on the journalist to cover India’s tour of England was left to nothing as Dr Baba ensured a safe distance of the press from the players. Under such circumstances, with the pressure to deliver the news, they hunted down on the juiciest subject related to cricket.
To give a brief description of Dr Baba and his body of work, he is a physician by qualification. Under his run as the media manager, he managed to keep the Indian skipper shut when media continued to raise questions over the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal. He continued to keep the media contingent at an arm’s length distance from the players. The accredited journalists till date haven’t been allowed any form of personal interaction. The only question-answer sessions come during the mandatory match press-conferences. Even there, the replies come across as answers from a press release more than a candid voice.
Whenever there are mailers sent to media organistaions, they are mere one-liners which says precious little. The moment he says something, it makes for a bizarre reading. Something like, “There was a misunderstanding and no abusive language was used. Virat has spoken to the concerned gentlemen immediately and matter ends.” The statement completely contradicts the version of the eye-witnesses.
In short, he has stretched his luck with the sport in the country. He has taken the media, and in a way, the fans away from the real voice of the cricketers. Today, he can afford to do that knowing cricket runs a big economy in the country. Media will continue to follow the team and the players wherever they go because the revenue generated is massive.
But, if the trend started by India’s current media manager continues, someday, sooner or later, it will lead to total annihilation — of the sport in the country, and given India’s hold on cricket worldwide, of the sport in general. Media will shift focus to other sports that haven’t got the kind of attention cricket has. The economy too will shift with it.
At least now, Kohli will realise why the media that continues to put in so much effort to cover the sport and its players are left with no other story, except talking about the venue of two popular public figures of India. Cricket journalists, put in as much effort to their profession and love their game as much as any cricketer playing for the country. At the time of the World Cup, despite all the hard lessons of neutrality, we don’t want to demoralise the readers and the players with negative coverage. But, if you need an explanation for the harsh treatment by the media, kindly ask Dr Baba.
(Aayush Puthran is currently a reporter with India.com. He has previously worked as a cricket journalist with CricketCountry and as an Associate Producer with Sony Six. Mercurially jovial, pseudo pompous, perpetually curious and occasionally confused, he is always up for a light-hearted chat over a few cups of filter kaapi!)
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