Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that players of his generation had a better relationship with journalists than current-era cricketers and the writers who covered them. The former player, who contested 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India, said the media connects with every age and era. It has developed a lot. With the advent of media houses, electronic and now digital media, it’s very difficult for gamers to remain friends.
Shastri said at the launch of Khalid AH Ansari’s memoir ‘It’s a Wonderful World’: “I think a lot has changed. A lot has changed since we were playing. The equations we had with the journalists were much better than with the players. I’ve been part of the locker room for the last seven years.
It wasn’t hard to understand Shastri’s context, as recently veteran Indian goalkeeper Wriddhiman Saha alleged that a journalist had allegedly “threatened” him for an interview. Shastri was one of the prominent former players who urged Saha to publicly name and shame the journalist.
This former all-rounder said that, however, he does not blame journalists and players for these things. He said: “However, I don’t want to blame people (journalists and sportsmen), because the headlines that are sticking to players today were not in our time. In our time, apart from print media, television (Doordarshan ) had just started, but today, with the media and forums on social media, the number of news channels covering sports is unbelievably high.