As much as the players have, it appears that media professionals have become weary of the World Cup, too. Just three days after their devastating loss to Australia in the ICC World Cup 2023 Final, team India are back on the road for a bilateral series against the same opponents.
However, in an unusual event, only two journalists showed up for the pre-match conference that the newly appointed captain Suryakumar Yadav addressed ahead of the men in blue’s series-opening T20I against Australia at Visakhapatnam.
“Only two people!” exclaimed the Indian skipper with a smile on his face after seeing the turn-out for the press-conference.
There was supposed to be a press conference on Wednesday afternoon with Matthew Wade, Australia's captain for this series, but it did not take place. It was not confirmed, though, if this was because there weren't enough journalists.
Every time India held a press conference during the World Cup, over 100 journalists attended with ease. The number went over 200 in a few instances, such as the semifinal and final. There were even more applications. This is to be expected at ICC events since reporters from all over the world come to the locations to cover their teams. However, cricket in India is so popular that even bilateral matches draw a lot of media attention.
However, looking at the existing state of affairs, it seems like there isn't enough time to gather steam between the first IND vs. AUS T20I and the World Cup final. To make matters even more unbelievable is the fact that the same two teams, albeit with different lineups, took on each other for the World Cup championship just 96 hours ago.
On India's Loss at the World Cup Final
Speaking on India’s loss at the World Cup final, Surya said, "It is difficult, it will take time, it can't be that you wake up next morning and you forget everything that happened. It was a long tournament. We would have loved to win it."
"But as you get up in the morning the sun rises again, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You have to move on. It is a fresh team, really looking forward to the challenge," he added.
"Obviously, a little disappointing but when you look back at the journey it was a great campaign. All of India and our families were proud of the way everyone displayed their talent on the ground. We played a positive brand of cricket throughout the tournament. We can be very proud of that," said the Mumbai batter.
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