NEW DELHI, Nov 22: The sketchy arrangements in place for the media personnel here at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Thursday have rubbed a lot of scribes the wrong way and leaves a lot to be desired.

Things operate haphazardly in India as far as organising an international cricket match is concerned and there are no two ways about it as was proved here on the first day of the first Test between Pakistan and India.

The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA), which is rated among the top associations in the country, obviously paid little attention to the media centre requirements because not only the media box but the whole cricket centre just didn’t cater to the journalists’ needs at all.

To begin with, the absence of any television set in the media box was alarming for most mediamen. It was only after an hour’s play had passed that two television sets were finally installed in the box, thanks to a strong protest lodged by a group of reporters representing both local and foreign media.

To make matters worse, no team sheets were provided to the media at any point in the day. The teams were announced by one of the scorers in the press box after the toss had taken place 20 minutes earlier.

The media centre does not accommodate more than 70 people, but at one time, it appeared like a fish market as more than a 100 people had barged in the small area. However, better sense prevailed when Ravi Jain, the DDCA’s media liaison officer, chased away around 20 people who were making life difficult for the journalists.

But the DDCA overlooked other essential details such as providing Internet connections — the most essential means of information for the journalists in a match — and forced many of the scribes to buy the Wi-Fi access cards. These cards are valid for usage only at the place where they have been purchased from. In other words, if one bought a card at the Kotla for a good 250 rupees, it would function within the premises only. On top of it all, the cards that were available on Thursday had time duration of 24 hours only and left many stranded in the evening. The other basic necessities like toilets were in deplorable condition and one marvelled how a prominent cricketing organisation such as the DDCA managed to fool the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) all these years.

According to the local journalists, things had been heading for the worst since the time Sharad Pawar’s BCCI regime replaced the once indispensable Jagmohan Dalmiya in Sept 2005.

Under Pawar, who heads the Indian Agriculture Ministry, the Board of Control for Cricket has embarked upon a relentless drive to make money from every available source, neglecting the various aspects of the game in process.

The deplorable conditions once again raises the key question that why does the International Cricket Council (ICC) not make it mandatory for all cricket boards to have certain media facilities in their countries? — Our Sports Reporter