Is Today's media responsible enough?

There is a never a dull moment in any sport and in the world of sports. Such is the magnitude of activity spread across multiple disciplines. However, not all sports are given equal attention by the media.

It is frustrating to notice that an incident as trivial as the deliberate over-stepping by Suraj Randiv to bowl a no-ball and thereby denying Virender Sehwag of a century ( in the ongoing tri-series in Srilanka) hogged the limelight in all forms of media when many more important events took place at the same time around the world. Andy Murray contributed to Federer's losing streak in the Roger's cup finals, Indian teenagers continue their dry spell in the youth Olympics in Singapore etc., More importantly, there hasn't been even one report on how the Indian contingent is preparing for the Commonwealth games which is scheduled to start in 45 days from now.

I understand media is a business by itself, (and follows the golden rule that the customer is at the centre of the business) and any piece of news is churned or reported ( however you like to call it) keeping in mind the interest of the people it is directed at. But, this is an issue that has clearly been blown out of proportion.

Randiv broke no law, did not violate any code of conduct laid down by the ICC. By publicly announcing that Randiv's act was a let down for Srilankan cricket, ( on the back drop of the fact that Srilanka has been winning the award for the 'spirit of the game' by ICC for the past two years,) the Srilankan board has let itself down. Worse is to have handed him an one ODI ban. It is concerning to note that the whole drama is because of the hype created by the media and the looming pressure on the Srilankan board by virtue of the fact the it is bankrupt and is at the mercy of BCCI!

Randiv's act was at best a mischief and nothing more. 'Spirit of the game' is such a vague concept. It is modified and accepted time and again by different sects of people. If cricketers were to follow the spirit of the game,

* Batsmen should start walking as soon as they know they are out and not wait for the umpire's decision.

* The fielding team should keep conversations with the batting team at the level of a friendly banter and not take it up to riling.

* Fielders shouldn't do their best( or rather worst) to cheat a favourable decision out of the umpires.

None of the above ever gets so much importance in the media, but this one did. Randiv walked upto Sehwag's room after the match to apologize and the story ended have ended there if it were responsible media that was covering it!

See ball.. Hit ball..

Few people make you take notice of them because of their expertise in a chosen field of endeavor, few for their their physical attractiveness. But, very few because of their very presence. One such person from the cricketing world in Virender Sehwag – fondly known as the Nawab of Najafgarh.

The purists of the game would frown at the way he plays the game and the coaches point to him to show a living example to kids on how not to play cricket – such is the lack of footwork in his game. Despite this, he is one of finest cricketers of contemporary cricket. Blessed with an uncluttered mind and operating with the simple rule ‘see ball, hit ball’ irrespective of the situation of the match, he remains a nightmare to all the bowling attacks in the world.

A normal batsman’s modus operandi is like this – you walk in to bat, get your eye in, play few defensive shots, try middling the ball, a couple of gentle pushes and jabs into the gaps to grow in confidence, few sweetly timed shots to get into the flow before starting to score in boundaries. But, with Sehwag, step 7 follows immediately after step 1. He walks in to bat and the carnage starts.

This attitude of his, spills onto press conferences too. A press conference is not a place where questions are answered directly. It is a place where one answers questions in a way that the answer cleverly eludes the question and the person who puts it forth, with a subtle attempt to come close to answering but vague enough for anyone including the person telling it to understand.

Viru has often been quoted saying things like “Bangladesh is an ordinary team, they cannot defeat India in Tests!” on the eve of a test match series. Well, it is Virender Sehwag, the swashbuckling cricketer we are speaking about. Diplomacy much like technically adept batting was in vogue!