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Journalism of Courage
Watching the Indian team sneak under the table and jump over chairs is interesting. Then they go round and round, five times, with their heads pinned on top of the stumps and then run. Yuvraj was able to maintain his balance, Gautam couldn’t. Sehwag fell too – laughing over it even as others joined the fun.
This is the Indian team’s training session in progress.
But asking the players to roll down the ground, do press-ups and run with ball held on the head is so commando-type; do they have any specific importance for cricketers? “You guys tend to look too deep into everything, these exercises are just for fun, believe me,” says Gregory King, the Indian team’s trainer. “They are entering the cricket ground after two days, so they need to enjoy it.”
Cricketers’ larger-than-life identities in the sub-continent, tight match schedules and security concerns means they find little means to bust stress.
This team has made a marked departure from norms, playing golf, jogging in the evenings in a sports complex and not at the cricket stadium, a dinner visit to Daman-e Koh on Thursday, the highest point in the twin city of Rawalpindi-Islamabad. That’s how this team is trying to unwind.
“The players wanted more such outings in serene surroundings. We had time in between, so we decided to make best use of it,” says media manager GS Walia.
So Harbhajan, golf cap over his turban, and MS Dhoni, in a black leather jacket, get cracking. Yuvraj joins the fun. Sitting on one side of the marble stone that bears the complete map of Rawalpindi, Harbhajan becomes the team guide and explains where the Indian team is at that time when Dhoni puts in a question. “Where’s Shoaib’s house in there, Bhajji?” “I will tell you later, let me first get photographed; it’s a lovely view from up here,” says Harbhajan.
On another side is the Mumbai pack of Sachin, Agarkar, Powar and Zaheer huddled in some discussion over the astounding lit-up Faisal Mosque. Rahul Dravid, meanwhile, prefers to lean from the fence and soak in to the ambience as Kaif and Raina get together, glasses of orange juice in hand.
Then they settled for a quiet dinner in the restaurant. The team will meet President General Pervez Musharraf in the morning before hitting the ground in the afternoon.
