Batting for the Profession

YOU READ COMMENTS on social media and you think about how mistaken people can be. Most people think that the journalists who are here in the UK to cover the tour are on a long holiday. They are all enjoying London, walking along the Thames, and going up the London Eye. It is the perfect English summer holiday interrupted by some extraordinary cricket. How can this be considered work? All you need to do is wake up and turn up at the stadium, be seated on a plum seat in the media box and watch some cricket. Really? This is exactly where social media loses the plot.

Last Monday, the day after the Manchester Test, Rishabh Pant had posted a few photographs of his fractured foot in plaster. Instead of hailing his courage and celebrating him, he was trolled on social media. That’s when you tend to think about who these people are. What they want, and how convoluted their thinking is. The moment they can abuse a celebrity, they do so. These wannabes think it is their moment under the sun to say something vile about Pant. And if Pant ever comes in front of them, you know each one of them will queue up to take autographs and request selfies.

Coming back to the coverage, the truth is it is hard work. If you are a broadcaster and a writer, your day starts as early as 7AM. You turn up for a live broadcast by 8.30AM and then, based on the roster, you have stints spread over the day. In my case, I do four live shows every day—pre-day, lunch, tea, and the post-day show. These are compulsory, and thereafter, there are specials depending on the ebbs and flows of the game. Once the live shows are done, you have your copy to write. While some write more than a copy every day, almost everyone on the tour writes at least a column on every match day.

While match-day routines follow a pattern, it is more challenging to sustain the intensity on non-match days. For example, what do you do on a travel day? How are you to sustain coverage and offer your viewers and readers something interesting to look forward to? Because if you don’t, the intensity of the coverage will drop—and with people being spoilt for choice, there is every reason for them to move away.

Also, let me share something that I have experienced in the last three months that I have been in the UK. Almost on a daily basis, I have been receiving job applications from aspiring journalists. And almost all of them want to be on tour. That’s where things start to go wrong. You don’t do journalism to be on a tour. You do journalism to strive for excellence—to break the next big story, write the best column you possibly can, and cover the series in the best way possible.

The quest for excellence is what should define us, and that’s what I don’t see in most. It is always about the shortcut. Make it to a tour and that’s it. I have also heard some people say to me that they write nine or 10 stories every day. The point is, you can’t possibly write that many and sustain quality. Frankly, anyone who writes that much may be writing rubbish. It is never about quantity. Rather, the quest for excellence should always be about quality. Try to aspire to be the best in what you do and make a difference. Come to England and stand out by the work that you do—not just because you have come to the UK, as though that’s an achievement in itself.

Sport journalism as a profession is struggling. I see a lot of mediocrity around, and that’s the worrying thing. In the absence of the drive from within, things don’t look like changing anytime soon either. Every time I travel, I feel the anxiety and the tension. How do I make a difference? What’s the story that I can tell which will help me stand out? How do I push the bar and write something that will appeal to the readers? It all happens organically. Sachin Tendulkar had once said to me that each time he went out to bat, he had butterflies in his stomach. And the truth is, it isn’t bad. You need to feel the nervous tension to be able to do well. It shows you are still in the game and hungry. The day you Batting for the Profession When social media gets it all wrong believe that all is done and you have achieved everything there is to achieve, you will have neared the end of your career. You can never be perfect. There is no ultimate perfection, and it will always be an unfinished quest. As a professional, your job is to keep chasing it and try to be perfect on an imperfect day.

Now and then I am ridden with self-doubt. Should I do a story or not? Will this column appeal to my readers? How do I understand the mindset of a batter or bowler better, and how do I bring the game alive for my viewers and readers? That’s what my job is, and unless and until I keep pushing myself to get better, I will stagnate. And the day that happens, it will be the end of the road for me.

The series is now poised for a fantastic climax and I will bring it alive for my readers with my writing. They are my audience, just like the thousands who will turn up at the Oval to watch Shubman Gill and company. These are the men and women you play for. In our case, it is our readers, and they are the ones who matter. Anyone who feels that the fulfilment is to come to the UK or Australia can never satisfy the reader. Unless you work the hardest, you are bound to fall short, and you will be caught out. Shortcuts don’t work, and the sooner it is understood, the better.

The point of this column is not to sermonise. Frankly, it is not something I remotely want to do. But as someone who has been doing this for three decades now, I just wanted to make a few points.

For everyone reading this, please know that sport journalism is not about the glamour or the glory or the travel or the selfies. It is hard work, just like any other profession. And only if you are willing to do the hard yards do you stand a chance.

 

Indian cricketManchester TestRishabh PantShubman Gillsocial mediaSport journalism