Pakistan is not for the overly sensitive. Former New Zealand cricketer Luke Ronchi should have known by now. Ronchi is at present coaching Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, where they play Hyderabad Kinsmen tonight.
Islamabad United are not doing too badly at present. With four wins and three defeats, they sit third on the points table. So, Ronchi was addressing the media when the embarrassing thing happened.
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In the video below, one can see a female journalist trying to ask Ronchi a question, but then another journalist doesn’t let her finish her question, which gets Ronchi’s goat.
“Boss, we’re in an order at the moment.
“[Looking in the direction of some official] He can ask a question, I don’t give a s***t.
“But if you just relax, please, can you please [addressing the troublemaker]?
Ronchi looked absolutely furious. Anyway, after Ronchi showed his frustrations, some official, maybe the media manager, took over and tried to drive a very important point home: “Can you please make sure that the journalists actually respect the decorum of this press conference?
“And secondly, if there is any problem with the journalist, they can speak to me directly rather than cut Luke Ronchi off during his answer. So, I think that’s the decorum we Pakistanis need to keep because this [the press conference] is going international. So, can you please kindly control the crowd?” he said.
IPL comparison is sickening!
To some, it may look funny. To others, it may be embarrassing, depending on which side of the border you represent. The press conferences there often make the news. For one thing, the journalists often ask their foreign players to make some kind of comparison with the Indian Premier League, which is undoubtedly far bigger in stature.
These foreign players, who have also played in the IPL in the past, are at a loss for words at these questions. They can’t openly say that PSL doesn’t compare with the IPL in any way. And they can’t lie either about the IPL. Although a few have done that, like Rilee Rousseau, who made some unsavoury remarks about the IPL recently.
Plus, players have been accused of being too light-hearted at these press conferences. In the lead-up to the season opener, all captains sat down together to address the media, but it came out as a farce. Questions as well as answers were pure comedy. David Warner and Marcus Labuschagne were involved in a hilarious interaction that, if truth be told, was not for serious viewers.