The former opening batter of the Australian side, Simon Katich, reckons that the media controversy regarding the former captain of the Indian side, Virat Kohli, and the premier all-rounder of the side, Ravindra Jadeja before the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is just part of the ‘mind games’ in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
The Indian team is already under some nervous moments since the shocking international retirement of veteran off-spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin after the third Gabba Test in Brisbane. There have already been a couple of media issues with Virat Kohli, who was left angry by the Australian reporters for the latter’s behavior.
The right-handed batter was reportedly captured by the media cameras in the airport, despite his asking them not to film their family without any permission. There is also the media controversy surrounding Jadeja, who left the journalists frustrated, having not answered their questions in English.
The premier left-arm spinner just answered the Indian journalists before leaving for the team bus after their practice session on December 21, as their bus was running late. Channel 7 reported that the Indian media manager offered the pacer Aakash Deep an interaction, but the latter, only being fluent in Hindi, wasn’t able to speak in English.
“That hasn’t gone down well at that camp”- Simon Katich on Virat Kohli’s media saga
The channel also claimed that their report asked to know the tensions in the Indian camp through the help of a journalist to which it was misquoted who would have the upper hand in the series. The start batter of the touring side, Virat Kohli, had already been engaged in an interaction with the media.
The batter came into the series on the back of 93 runs in six innings at home against New Zealand at an average of 15.50 with the help of one half-century which came at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in the opening game. Despite his century in the second innings of the first Perth Test in the BGT 2024-25, the batter has gathered just 26 runs in the other four innings.
Virat Kohli has been constantly struggling with driving deliveries outside the off-stump as he was dismissed in the same fashion during the second day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval and later in the third Test at the Gabba. The series is set at 1-1, and the fourth MCG Test is expected to be the decider, with rain predicted for the fifth New Year’s Test in Sydney.
The former coach and batter, Simon Katich, during a discussion with Channel 7 for whom he works, has addressed the matter as a part of the mind games from the Indian camp.
“There’s been a few things unfolding in the last week or so, that haven’t gone down well at that camp. It’s probably just the mind games being played, given the enormity of this series. The media are here to promote the game, and I don’t know what the Indians are thinking at the moment. That’s their problem.” Katich added.
The expectation from the head coach of the Indian side, Gautam Gambhir, would be to keep the team away from this distraction and pay their entire attention to the Melbourne Test. Virat Kohli will also hope to contribute to the series with the bat in hand, along with captain Rohit Sharma, who also hasn’t been in good touch in the series since arriving in the country.