I have always felt that covering Test cricket is the most challenging and, at the same time, most enjoyable assignment for a journalist who loves the sport. More so when it is the Boxing Day Test with everything to play for, there could be close to 100,000 people at the MCG, and the intensity and the drama add to the theatre, making it a spectacle unrivalled. That’s what should get the best out of a journalist. How do you report on the match? How do you stand out? How do you break the clutter? What can you be different in an already cramped space? How can you not be sensationalist like most are, and yet get viewers to consume your content?
Much like it is a Test for the Indian team, it is also a test for journalists. To see how good they are.
That’s what prompted me to get five more of my colleagues to join the three already in Melbourne. Document the stories that aren’t really documented. Go beyond the practice and the press conference and bring to life the more human side of sport. Give the fans their due and add to the coverage. If there are one or two people on the ground, it is natural that he or she will report on the practice or the press conference. With two teams practising for three hours each, followed by a press conference from either team, your entire day is spent doing the basics. But then, is that complete coverage? Can you really understand the pulse of the Boxing Day Test by just doing the basics?
Take my colleagues Trisha Ghosal and Gargi Raut, for example. Neither has been to Australia before. And yet, both are extremely good at what they do. It was important to throw them into the deep end. Let them find their mojo and report on stories that stand out. What explains the madness for Virat Kohli in Australia? Is Jasprit Bumrah, the star for India this series, now a brand in his own right? What explains the nearly sacrosanct Boxing Day ritual of turning up to the MCG on December 26? Reporting on the presence of 100,000 people for a Test match will be an invaluable experience for them. And in turn, they will grow as journalists – something we at RevSportz have forever aimed to achieve.
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
Agnijit Sen, popular as Agni in Bengal, isn’t a sports journalist. Rather, he is an entertainer who also loves sport. How does he bring the Boxing Day Test to life? What’s his take, and how can he add to the coverage and make it stand out?
In a scenario where one or two people travel, none of the above would have made the cut. And that’s where the profession loses out. We don’t let people evolve and, as a result, lose many future journalists who find other things to do in life. Just as Sam Konstas on debut can become a star, so can a journalist if he or she stands out while covering a Boxing Day Test. It is about getting an opportunity.
I first covered a match in Australia in 2003-4. Since then, I have covered every Boxing Day Test featuring India except the one played during Covid. It still excites me in the very same way. The challenge is to excel and do some quality work. That’s what explains why five of us are travelling to Melbourne on Saturday night to join Subhayan Chakraborty, Debasis Sen and Rohit Juglan. Our way of doing things differently, and shaking up the coverage. Whether it works or not, time will tell. But like R Ashwin always said, the effort will not be lacking.
Also Read: If Rohit gets his mind right, India can create history at the MCG