Sept. 12: Prior to the final of the recent tri-series in Dambulla, a senior journalist wanted to have a chat with Praveen Kumar. Team manager Ranjib Biswal overreacted, pulled the mediaman aside and even threatened him with the loss of his high profile job! The same evening the Indian cricketers were seen mingling freely with select fans in the team hotel.
The team management’s attitude towards the media made the tri-series in Dambulla a trying experience for reporters. Only ‘convenient media leaks’ were planted. Barring reporters everyone had access to players and their rooms. Much fuss was made of an incident involving Suresh Raina during the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last summer when two journalists were denied permission to enter the floor where the players were lodged.
This, even after the player had come down personally to identify the reporters and take them to his room for a chat. Fashion models stepping out from swank cars seem to have the divine right to hobnob with players anywhere they please. Casual conversations lead to dinners and much more. The same manager who huffs and puffs at reporters with accredition has no idea if these women are decoys, or have anything to do with bookmakers.
Now, with the ICC scanner, befriending Indian players may not be as easy as in the past, yet many holes remain to be plugged. Security at large is still of the old-fashioned variety. What players do once they leave their rooms is hard to classify, much less be put under surveillance. During the Asia Cup, genuine fans who wanted just an autograph were harassed for moving around the pavilion area but a player agent could move in and out of players’ hotel rooms freely. The Sri Lanka was an eye opener in more ways than one. It’s easy to fix games posing as an agent or manager.