Australia vs India Test cricket: Caught out covering Virat Kohli and the Indian side

Overzealous security. Watching training from the bushes. ‘Gate-crashing’ birthday parties. Covering the circus that is an Indian Test tour is full of challenges, but the last thing you want is to become the story yourself.

Virat Kohli during training at Optus Stadium ahead of the first Test.

“Shameless Indian journos gate-crash MS Dhoni’s birthday party.”

As a journalist, the last thing you want is to become the story. That goes for most of us anyway. There’s one thing to get a passing mention hidden somewhere in a newspaper article. But a whole different matter, when you see your face flashing up repeatedly on the TV screen as part of one of the most-watched news segments in India. That too as you’re stuffing your mouth with huge morsels of biryani, while being accused of “gate-crashing” the birthday party of India’s Test captain.

It was July 2011, and we were in beautiful Dominica for the third Test of India’s tour of the Caribbean. And yes, there was indeed a celebration for Dhoni turning 30. But all I was guilty of was accepting a generous invitation from his wife, Sakshi, to feast on the leftovers that she laid out for a couple of us journalists who happened to be around the hotel lobby. Only to be named and shamed on national television in India like I’d snuck past security and helped myself to their food.

It was my second major tour away from home and a very rude welcome to the world of covering the Indian cricket team on the road. For, the lesson here was that while you are keeping a keen eye on the Indian team, there’s also always a spotlight on you, one that you can never escape.

Along with other quirks that go with this rather unique challenge. And the last five days in Perth for me have been a case of reacclimatising to the vagaries, the uncertainties, and the overall circus of being tasked with reporting on the Indian cricket team.

Some of you must have seen the clips and pictures of India’s practice sessions at the WACA that I posted from some 500 meters away, and through branches and leaves, over the weekend. That was after we were locked out of the stadium on Saturday and Sunday owing to a lack of security personnel there. It meant that I was back in my element, trying to scope out the best vantage point to catch a glimpse of what the Indians were up to. Just like I’d done on numerous occasions in cities around the world, from Benoni in South Africa to Kingston in Jamaica.

Even if I may have come across as quite the creep in Perth, stood alone in an empty parking lot and peering through my binoculars. There were a couple of private security cars that came by but thankfully left without interrogating me. I did also flirt with the idea of pretending to be part of the construction crew, but despite gaining access to a worn-out hard hat, high-vis shirt and work boots, my rather colourful shorts gave me away.

Kohli talks with fans through the fence after batting in the nets at Optus Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

It was if anything a humbling reminder of how easy we have it at times here in terms of both access and communication with the Australian team. And when India are in town, the rules start changing around the Test venues too. Despite being annual visitors to the Optus Stadium during the Test summer, on Tuesday, a couple of us Aussie reporters were made to wait in the security booth for an ‘escort’ who then marched us towards the press box, in single file, hands by our side.

Then came the restrictions on where you could stand while watching the nets. While with every other team, including Australia, journalists are allowed to stand on the concourse and watch the session from right behind the batters, but at a fair distance. Not when the Indian superstars are in action though. We were rather rudely asked to vacate the area, despite it being a public place, with the insistence that the visiting batters were being distracted by our presence. Even if KL Rahul laughed off that suggestion when he overheard the team’s security liaison bring it up. Eventually, we did have to relent.

It reminded me of the time at the MCG in 2014 when the Indian team’s then head of security threatened to take away my accreditation card and escalate the situation even further. Just because I was stood in the same spot, next to the groundsmen’s shed, where I’d seen the Aussies practice from earlier in the day.

With access to the team highly limited, these away tours also tend to result in some massive newsbreaks. Further amplified by the fact that the concept of official confirmations does not exist or at least occurs far and few in between when it comes to Indian cricket. It’s all a case of, “Reports in India suggest ...” something you’ll hear about a lot in the coming weeks. Like the status of Rohit Sharma’s arrival in Australia or even the status of Devdutt Padikkal being added to the official Test squad despite being slated to play on Friday.

The biggest irony though is that while the Indian players get shielded with a fortress built around them when they’re at the ground, they let their hair down and enjoy their freedom off the field with gay abandon at times when overseas. Whether it’s through zooming through the empty streets of Perth on e-scooters or even Virat Kohli enjoying a quiet coffee while reading a newspaper in an East Perth café.

There is also another misconception about these superstar Indian cricketers with their multimillions. That they only dine in the fanciest of restaurants serving gourmet food or only shop at high-end and bespoke stores. While it maybe true for a couple of the high-profile names, for most of them, a trip to Nando’s for a quick meal or a supermarket to just walk around is what they crave for the most. A small dose of what we consider a normal life.

Just for the record, Indian cricket is yet to be besieged by the golf fixation that has gripped the rest of the cricket world.

And often it’s on these away tours, that the Indian media has their best chance at real interactions with these cricketers, away from the cricket that is. Which in turn also leads to some interesting situations, including impromptu invitations to birthday parties. As I found out in Dominica back in 2011, only to be outed as an alleged interloper with a big appetite.