Sharmistha Gooptu in Birmingham
The media enclosure has just a few people when I come in everyday around 9 or 9.15 am after grabbing a coffee in the media lounge. The others in our team are outside the stadium doing their live shows on the different streams. Most media people arrive by 10 am or so when the media enclosure starts to buzz. The ground is empty more or less except for a few staff persons or the ground-staff doing some work around the pitch.
This morning, Gautam Gambhir and the Indian support staff arrived earlier than usual and from my vantage point – a clear bird’s eye position – I watched Gambhir in intense conversations with his colleagues and then with Cheteshwar Pujara, who is commentating for the series. Any of my colleagues would give anything to know what they were speaking about – strategy perhaps or expectations of the team today!
After some minutes of engaged conversation – Gambhir and a couple of others started a jog around the field and did a full round. The team hadn’t arrived yet.
Other days, I’ve watched the team warming up, Mohammed Siraj or Jasprit Bumrah playing a bit of football with their mates. Giving heads to each other. The inaudible banter but visible camaraderie. The warming up, stretching, the deep and intense conversations. The huddle.
The birdie takes it all in!