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India and Australian media were supposed to play a T20 game at Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja addressing a presser at MCG.
A scheduled inter-press match between the Indian and Australian media was canceled after the visiting media reportedly boycotted a pre-arranged game, following the press conference controversy involving star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
The T20 game scheduled for Sunday at Junction Oval in Melbourne was canceled after the Indian team’s media manager decided not to participate. This decision prompted several members of the traveling media contingent to withdraw as well, making it impossible to organize a formal match, a report in The Age quoted multiple sources.
This incident was followed on Saturday by a press conference involving Jadeja, where the spinner answered questions in Hindi after a half-hour delay in the scheduled media appearance after India completed a training session at the ground.
Jadeja began taking questions from Indian journalists. Following nine minutes of discussion in the Indian’s native language, the presser ended as the team bus had to depart. Hence, the player couldn’t stay any longer, according to India’s media manager.
However, some Australian media are claiming that Jadeja refused to answer questions in English. “The Australian media were bemused and confused when the star allrounder refused to answer questions in English. It was obviously an annoying situation for the journalists who made the effort to turn up,” Channel 7 said in its report.
In reality, Jadeja never refused to answer questions in English. He responded primarily in Hindi because the Indian reporters posed their questions exclusively in that language.
Relations between the Indian team and local media took a downturn when the squad began to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday. Star batter Virat Kohli was engaged in a heated exchange with a journalist, as he appeared to be upset by the presence of cameras directed at his family.
The fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series begins on Thursday at the MCG, with the series levelled at 1-1. India won the first Test in Perth by 295 courtesy of a magical performance from standing skipper Jasprit Bumrah but Australia roared back with a team effort in Adelaide, clinching a 10-wicket win.
The third Test at the Gabba ended in a draw. It was Jadeja’s first match in the series and he scored a pivotal 77 (123) in India’s first innings.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
- Location :
Melbourne, Australia
