Nottingham, June 09: Three star cricketers, including vice captain Virender Sehwag, were conspicuous by their absence from the nets as Team India’s cold
war with the media continued for the fourth day.
No national cricketer came forward to speak to the huge press contingent at the Lady Bay Ground, after absence of Sehwag from the nets only added grist to the rumour mills.
Apart from Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma could not be spotted at the nets.
Dozens of media persons, from print, electronic and web, had assembled in huge numbers to cover the practice session but were left frustrated when no representative of the defending champions made himself available to the press.
“It was optional and there was no definite assurance that a cricketer would be made available to the press,” informed manager Anirudh Chowdhary.
Since skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a show of strength in front of assembled media on the eve of the opening match against Bangladesh last Friday, only Man Of The Match Pragyan Ojha has spoken to media even though the presence of skipper is mandatory after a match, according to ICC guidelines to teams in this tournament.
The only time Dhoni needed media was when a bat sponsor made an appearance at the ground and cheerfully showcased a bat which he had brought for the Indian skipper, a practice he follows whenever Dhoni is touring England.
Since the media reported about an alleged rift between Dhoni and Sehwag, Team India is carrying an issue with the media which was termed by Dhoni as “false and irresponsible”.
Dhoni has asserted that he doesn’t get upset by media reports but it was shown up as untrue when coach Gary Kirsten admitted to the media that his unit was “hurt by the media reports.”
As for Sehwag’s absence from the nets on Monday, the media was left to draw its own conclusion on the prickly issue.
Sehwag, along with Dhoni and the rest of the team, though was present when a private dinner was thrown in the honour of the Indian team here last night.
Sehwag went to the party with his wife Aarti and son Aryaveer.
–PTI–