For millions of people around the world and especially in India, cricket is a huge deal. Thus, the interest in all facets of it is unavoidable. Except when it isn’t, it’s largely understandable.
Cricketers in India are frequently viewed as demi-gods, and people have given them celebrity status. After all, they play for our country, and for many of us, the country comes first. However, for some people, this fascination with cricketers comes to an end when they fail to provide us with pleasure in the form of a win. As a result, this type of relationship took an ugly turn.
Forget about ordinary people; there are several occasions in which journalists ask silly questions to cricketers, embarrassing us all and degrading the standard of journalism in our country. I understand that journalists’ role is to ask tough questions, but the only condition is that the inquiries be tough, not nasty, and should be on point.
There have been several situations when journalists have asked cricketers questions that were illogical and sounded silly, and here are some examples:
1. When questioned by a reporter if Rohit Sharma should have been replaced by Ishaan Kishan after India’s loss to Pakistan in the World T20 opener in 2021, Virat Kohli gave a perfect reply.
We don’t know what the reporter was thinking but just because he’s in line to become the captain in the format doesn’t mean we cannot recognize his ability on the basis of one bad game. On the other hand, Kohli did not take it lying down and stuck up for his teammate.
2. When MS Dhoni failed to show his true self in matches at the World T20 2016, a reporter asked, “Are you going to continue playing after this tournament?”
Despite the fact that reporters had asked this question to him a thousand times by that point, the former captain invited the reporter to his side, and this is what happened.
3. Dhoni was questioned if he was delighted with India’s 1-run victory against Bangladesh at the same tournament.
The inquiry was reasonable on its face, but the tone seemed odd.
“Aap kisi tarah se jeet paaye,” the journalist stated, which Dhoni didn’t appreciate.
4. When asked what India will do if New Zealand beat Afghanistan, Ravindra Jadeja responded with an abruptly clear answer.
Ravindra Jadeja was asked what India will do if New Zealand beat Afghanistan. For background, there was nothing India could have done, therefore it was a question that might have been avoided. That was obviously evident from Jadeja’s response.
.@imjadeja timing at its best 😂🤣pic.twitter.com/yw1ftYSthM
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) November 5, 2021
5. When asked who her favourite male cricketer is, Mithali Raj responded, “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?”
Seriously? What is the purpose of this inquiry? What does this have to do with Mitali’s game and performance? What effect will it have on her? Is it really important to have a favourite male cricketer?
Who run the 🌏? 👩!#WWC17 https://t.co/hz2KAFgx9R
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 22, 2017
6. When Kane Williamson was asked if he would have picked MS Dhoni in the playing XI for the 2019 ODI World Cup by a reporter, he responded with a perfect response.
Dhoni had done nothing to not deserve to be a part of the team, and Kane Williamson made it clear with his response.
7. When Sourav Ganguly was asked by Rajdeep Sardesai if he would consider becoming the Chief Minister of Bengal. This political question came up during a discussion about a book related to cricket the journalist had authored.
When asked about the question, the former India captain replied,
“I thought this was a cricket book. This cricket book is being launched, so I can see the faces of myself, Dhoni, Dravid, Pataudi, Bedi, Gavaskar, Azharuddin, and Sachin…There is no politician here, so why such a question?”.
8. Rajdeep questioned Rahul Dravid if players had grown greater than the game, noting that Dhoni has the final decision on when he retires.
Dravid responded by saying:
“Don’t be critical of just Virat and Dhoni, even Ashish Nehra is getting to decide when he retires. At the core of this, they are normal guys, then suddenly they become heroes. And they become heroes thanks to people like you who keep asking them for interviews and write books about them. Who has made them too big?”
Poor Rajdeep!! You don’t mess with IndiraNagar ka gunda!! 😂pic.twitter.com/QRKUC3v9yu
— Mon (@4sacinom) April 14, 2021
9. When R Ashwin was questioned if the pitch in Motera was suitable for a Test match by an English journalist.
Although stupid isn’t the right term for this question, here’s why that wasn’t the ideal question.
10. When Rohit Sharma was asked about Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan’s ban when he had nothing to do with him and this ban.
After failing to disclose match-fixing attempts, Shakib Al Hasan was banned from playing international cricket in 2019. Journalists were seeking a way to get some juicy information out of Rohit about the situation when he had nothing to do with this ban, so they inquired his thoughts on the ban. The unnecessary inquiry upset Rohit. So, he responded with a short and crisp reply,
“I am not ICC.”
