Hyderabad: Indian captain for the five-match T20 series, Suryakumar Yadav, was in for a surprise when only two reporters attended the press meet organized to brief them about the series-opening T20 against Australia at Visakhapatnam.
This appears to be an unusually low turnout for a men’s Indian cricket team match at home, at least as far as recent memory goes. One possible explanation is the World Cup fever, which may have caused fatigue among both players and support staff. Those covering the tournament might have faced similar circumstances, contributing to the low attendance at the press meet.
The first match between India and Australia in the T20 series is scheduled for Thursday. The Indian cricket authority has already announced the 15-player squad for the series.
Interestingly, Australia’s captain for the series, Matthew Wade, was also supposed to address the media on Wednesday afternoon, but the session did not take place for reasons unknown.
"Only two people?" remarked Yadav with a big smile before concluding the four-minute-long press meet.
The two reporters, presumably from news agencies PTI and ANI, as indicated by their microphones on the table during the press conference, took turns asking multiple questions to Suryakumar. Despite their exhaustion of questions, Yadav remained ready to answer.
It's worth noting that during the World Cup, India's press conferences routinely attracted more than 100 journalists with ease.
