Ravi Shastri comments on the relationship between journalists and cricketers

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that the rapport that players of his time shared with journalists was far better than in recent times. His comments came after veteran India wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha had put some allegedly “threatening” messages from a famous journalist after he refused to give an interview.

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“I think it has changed. It has changed from the time we played the game. The equation we had with journalists was far far better than the equation you see with the boys today. And I have been part of (the) dressing room for the last seven years,” Shastri said at the launch of It’s A Wonderful World’, a memoir by Khalid A-H Ansari.

However, Ravi Shastri was one of those renowned faces who had backed Saha openly, asking him to publicly name and shame the journalist in question as well. Shastri also said that it’s difficult to be under the spotlight on a constant basis.

“I feel we have tried to discuss it (with) them” – Ravi Shastri

“I don’t blame the guys though because, the spotlight that is there on today’s players is nowhere like what it was on us. We had the print media; there was television (Doordarshan) that had just started. But today with the platforms that exist in the media and social media taking off the way it is, news channels, the number of news channels that cover the game, is unreal and that really is something that puts the spotlight on the players,” added Ravi Shastri.

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“I feel we have tried to discuss it (with) them. To speak as much as you can to the media, but make sure that it is a proper kind of press conference where you take everyone’s questions at one go. Because what happens is a lot of things are taken out of context these days and I am being honest about it, because of the competition that exists. As a result of which, the player has no choice but to go into a shell, has absolutely no choice and says I rather look within, focus on the game, let my cricket do the talking and once I am done and dusted, then I can speak to whoever,” Ravi Shastri signed off.