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They prod and poke until you finally snap, and when you do, suddenly they are the innocent ones, claiming victimhood.
No one excels at playing the moral high ground quite like an Australian who, just moments earlier, was the one stirring the pot. This tactic isn’t just limited to Australian cricketers, it is a tried-and-true strategy for their media as well.
Just days ago, Virat Kohli found himself embroiled in a heated exchange with a few members of the media at Brisbane`s airport following the third Test. Kohli, who prefers to keep his personal life under wraps, was reportedly displeased at the media’s intrusion on his family. According to reports, Kohli insisted he couldn’t be filmed without permission. “It was upon seeing the waiting cameras that Kohli became a little heated over what is largely a misunderstanding when he thought the media was filming him with his children,” Channel 7 reporter Theo Doropoulos said on 7NEWS.
Fast forward to Saturday, and it was Ravindra Jadeja`s turn to face the media circus. Much on the expected lines, the Australian media wasted no time in labeling the press conference as a `strange and frosty` affair, with their headline conveniently focusing on the fact that Jadeja `refused to answer questions in English`.
“At the MCG on Saturday, India’s media team pointed to reporters who were allowed to ask questions and even acknowledged a few Australian journalists. But Jadeja only responded in his native language,” read the report.
The report indicated that Jadeja answering in his native Hindi was an inconvenience for the Aussie journalists, and to top it off, he allegedly wrapped up the press conference early. It also made sure to mention that `India`s media team insisted the conference was for `travelling Indian media only even though Australian media were invited`.
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Amit Shah, a reporter from Midday, pointed out that many Indian journalists don’t always get the chance to ask questions due to time constraints, but instead of keeping their cool, the Australian journalists `misbehaved` and `argued` with the Indian media manager after the press conference.
Shah, who regularly attends press conferences, noted that this kind of behaviour is uncharacteristic of the Indian press, who have never raised a fuss. “Their behaviour was inappropriate and uncalled for. I cover press conferences regularly, and even during Australian press conferences, many Indian journalists don`t get a chance to ask questions due to time limitations, but we have never argued or misbehaved,” he said.
But of course, this is Australia. Their cricketing culture has always been a masterclass in ‘psychological warfare`. It is not enough to outplay the opponent on the field, they’ve made an art form out of getting inside your head.
Whether it’s the infamous ‘mental disintegration’ tactics of the ‘90s or today’s more polished version of mind games, Australia has long been the pioneer in the field of psychological gymnastics. And Saturday was no different.
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