‘MS Dhoni didn’t do one press conference, Sachin was…’: Clarke not surprised with India’s cold war with Australian media

Michael Clarke was not surprised by Jadeja's press conference. He said that in the past, MS Dhoni didn't address the media ahead of matches.

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke gave his honest take on the controversy surrounding Ravindra Jadeja's pre-match press conference. It was the first media interaction before the Boxing Day Test, where Jadeja answered his questions in Hindi, and the Australian media persons were miffed by that. The BCCI media team informed that Jadeja would not be able to take questions in English as they had to "catch the bus." The Australian media lashed Jadeja for not giving answers in English as it became the topic of discussion in the local media houses.

Michael Clarke not stunned by Ravindra Jadeja's presser controversy, digs out MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar's old off-field tactics

Leading channel Channel 7 carried out a report full of twisted facts and blamed Jadeja for "refusing" to answer questions in English. In reality, the Indian all-rounder had no role in it. The press meet was largely for the travelling Indian media, and hence, all the questions were asked in Hindi. Jadeja, obviously being more comfortable in that language, answered in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Clarke was not surprised by Jadeja's press conference. He said that in the past, MS Dhoni didn't address the media ahead of matches, and the same was true for Sachin Tendulkar.

"I don't think much has changed, to be honest. I've experienced Indian teams coming here, and their captain, MS Dhoni, didn't do one press conference during the entire Test series. So, Sachin was very restrictive around when he chose to do media. I think it's been the same for a long time. So, I like the fact they're still putting someone up," Clarke said on ESPN's Around the Wicket show.

‘…Gambhir made that very clear in the first press conference'

Clarke asserted that Gautam Gambhir's press conference in Mumbai before leaving for Australia set the tone for how the Indian team is going to conduct themselves off the field. Gambhir lashed out at Ricky Ponting for criticising Virat Kohli's form while addressing the media.

“I think they made it pretty clear before they left India what they were going to be like when they arrived in Australia. They're going to stick to themselves, stick to their plan. Gambhir made that very clear in the first press conference,” he added.

The 2015 World Cup-winning captain said the chat around Jadeja's press conference won't be bothering the Indian team.

"So, I don't know why anybody's surprised, and for them, it'd be about what's happening on the field, not off the field. So, I don't think even the chat around it would be bothering India too much," Clarke added.