The signs were already visible of India’s cricket establishment becoming media-savvy but today the BCCI took a firm step forward. On the first day of the short-duration camp here today, India’s top cricketers — all 40 of them — took tips on media-handling from TV pioneer Prannoy Roy. Today’s talk — which follows the BCCI’s new practice of fielding one cricketer daily before journalists — was one of several ‘guest lectures’ in keeping with the aim of focusing on the cricketers’ all-round development; Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone are due to speak tomorrow and the Board also hopes to have a Kargil war hero appear. Yuvraj hopes for Test cap BANGALORE: Known to be a one-day specialist Yuvraj Singh now wants change it all. ‘‘I have done well in the first-class matches. Now, I must try to be more consistent in the one-dayers and hope to get into the Test side,’’ he said on the first day of the week-long conditioning camp for Indian probables . Yuvraj, who played for Yorkshire this season, said he was enriched by the county experience. ‘‘It was a good experience. But I did not do well in the last two months. My batting was going through a bad patch. Of course the effort was there all the time. It is tough when things are not going your way but the experience makes you a hard person. I learned a lot of things which make you a good cricketer,’’ Yuvraj said. ‘‘As an overseas player, you will have to play professionally. The standard of county cricket was also very good. “ Commenting on the forthcoming New Zealand series, he said, ‘‘It should be a very exciting series. I am also looking forward to the games that comes prior to the New Zealand series like the Challenger Trophy and Irani Cup.’’ (ENS) Though Roy told The Indian Express the talk was academic — ‘‘I used to be a professor’’ — the use of video clippings and the broad range of subjects covered ensured that this was anything but History 101. The message to the cricketers was, Don’t let the media control you, learn to control them instead. Appear relaxed at all times, they were told, even when you’re faced with the most uncomfortable questions. Remember there’s nothing off the record, and don’t answer any personal questions. More than just handling the media, the cricketers were given a lesson in building and protecting their image. And though much of it was intended for the juniors, even Sachin, post-Ferrari, could do with a bit of help on this. Perhaps keeping the traditional image of arrogant cricketers in mind, Roy said they must at least pretend to be friendly. He also told them to pay special attention to children — ‘‘they are your fans’’. Most of the questions that followed the talk were from the seniors in Team India — coach John Wright, physio Andrew Leipus, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj, Dinesh Mongia. Their questions ranged from handling planted stories and personal smear campaigns to dealing with the usual post-match crowd of journalists. When it comes to handling media and image, there are few better than David Beckham, and the players were shown a video clip of him — and Tiger Woods — in action off the field. And also of Shaun Pollock facing the media after announcing his resignation as South Africa during the recent World Cup. Whatever the impact of the talk, however, the cricketers are currently protected by the rules they invoke when confronted. Asked for his impressions of the programme, Dravid brusquely said he would speak when his turn came on Tuesday. CAMP DIARY First day no show. The media were waiting, so were the players, but the rain gods took centre-stage at the first practice session of this camp. All plans for a day out in the sun with the 40 probables for India coach John Wright and his staff proved to be a non-starter. Instead the 40 players were divided into four groups, which had to make do with indoor, and closed-door, sessions. No life without wife For Tamil Nadu’s Hemang Badani, making a comeback to the Indian side is of paramount concern. For that purpose he wants some better luck on his side and what better way than to have his wife with him. However, what he thought to be a simple request went against him. ‘‘Please sir, let her come here,’’ he kept pleading but BCCI secretary SK Nair would have none of it. ‘‘You are here for a serious purpose, focus on the camp, think about this later,’’ was the terse reply. Kapil Da Jawab Nahin. The former Indian great Kapil Dev is here to talk to the players over the next couple of days. His agenda: to improve the action of the 16 fast bowlers (7 probables and 9 net bowlers) at the camp. He has a film ready, specifically made with Australian expertise, which was first shown at the NCA’s videography room. Apparently, it has wowed Kapil’s former teammates Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar. (Chandresh Narayanan)
