The Indian media is far too partial to men’s cricket and what their Viru is saying or what Kohli and Yuvi are doing.
It took the Indian women’s cricket team to do supremely well in the World Cup 2017 In England to attract some attention from the media. Initially matches were not even telecast while some old rubbish men’s matches were rerun.
It is a fact that the men’s cricket team is the chosen one for newspapers and TV. When the men’s team is in action, all other sport is downgraded to the bottom or ignored altogether.
So if a golf fan wants to know what happened on the PGA Tour, he may be lucky if he finds it in the News In Brief section. He can forget the TV channels
For example, a whole page is devoted to the Indian men’s team when they are in action. It has a match report, sidelights, four experts giving their bit on the match, loads of trivial statistics and what Sharma ate for lunch. The television channels also have a mega team in place to commentate, hold pre- and-post match presentations, a few former cricketers as experts and an anchor, who luckily is a beauty combined with brains.
On match days, there are channels along with their HD versions, relentlessly bombarding you with their team along with match action and oft-repeated advertisements which translate into long toilet or snack breaks. The match coverage winds up in the wee hours of the night after highlights, more highlights and best catches etc.
The new mantra of these channels are to offer specific ones in Hindi so that those comfortable in that language can enjoy the commentary and match. Even regional languages are catered to these days.
The Indian Premier League takes on another dimension. It’s a total entertainment package but the tournament at least provides some thrills.
Yes, cricket reaps in the moolah. However, some sense of balance needs to be maintained when the nation team is playing other sports.
They should not be ignored. The Indian women’s cricket team played brilliant cricket in the opening matches of the World Cup. However, fans were left searching online or check out Hotstar to watch matches. The channels missed a great chance to record a great performance by the Indian team.
It has left many fans bewildered and unhappy. A World Cup involving India is important, even if does not fetch much money. Now that the event is done and dusted, we find the same kind of coverage for the women which the men get.
A news channel goes to Punjab to interview Harmanpreet Kaur’s father. We come to know more about the great performer Mithali Raj, the highest run-scorer in one-day internationals. Newspapers go ga-ga and tells us more about the great performance of these women.
Sorry guys, you killed a great story and tried to revive it when it was too late. You did not seize the moment. It just reflects the thoughtless and greed of the media where money rules.
#All views expressed in this column are the authors
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