Former Australian cricketer and commentator Simon Katich has reacted to the recent media controversies involving star Indian players Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. Simon Katich has described the Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja media controversies as “mind games” by the Indian cricket team.
The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series between India and Australia is deadlocked at 1-1. Team India scored a 295-run victory during the series opener in Perth. However, the Pat Cummins-led side over-performed in the next two games. The third match ended in a draw due to rain.
Media controversies surrounding Indian stars Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja
There was tension in the Indian camp after Ravichandran Ashwin's sudden retirement from international cricket. A controversy erupted when Virat Kohli arrived in Melbourne with his family. Kohli was reportedly filmed by the Australian media at the airport ahead of the Boxing Day Test.
Another media controversy surrounding Ravindra Jadeja arose in Melbourne when he responded only in Hindi during an interaction with the media. Some Australian reporters were present but were not given answers in English and were told that the session was exclusive to the roving Indian media.
It's probably just mind games being played – Simon Katich
Speaking to Channel 7, Simon Katich commented on recent media controversies involving Indian players, describing them as “mind games” from the Indian camp. Katich added that the media's role is to promote the game and he did not understand the approach of the Indian team.
“Obviously, there's been a few things going on in the last week or so that haven't gone well in that camp. It's probably just the mind games being played given the enormity of this streak,” Katich said.
“The media is here to promote the game and I don't know what the Indians are thinking at the moment. That is their problem,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir and his support staff hope the recent incidents do not distract the Indian team ahead of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne on Thursday. December 26. The five-match series will conclude at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) with the New Year Test starting on January 3.
Overall performance of Team India in BGT 2024-25
KL Rahul was India's top scorer in BGT 2024-25 with 235 runs including two half-centuries. Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal both scored a century while debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy made 179 runs at an average of 44.75. Ravindra Jadeja added 77 crucial runs in the last match.
However, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have struggled with the bat in this series. India will be worried but it is unusual for all the batsmen to be in top form over the course of a series, especially away from home. Jasprit Bumrah took 21 wickets while Mohammed Siraj took 13 wickets.