Just as Knight Riders' coach Trevor Bayliss settled down to take questions on Friday, team director Joy Bhattacharya announced: "This press conference is about the match KKR are supposed to play tomorrow (Saturday) and their future in the tournament; and that's the ambit of it because none of us are in a position to comment on anything else."
Considering that their high-profile co-owner is in the midst of a controversy, none of the squad members were willing to talk about the ugly episode at the Wankhede.
No shying away
However, there was no shying away from the controversy surrounding a player's suspension for claiming to have received black money from the Pune team owners. "The players are a little bit worried about it," captain-mentor Sourav Ganguly said about Mohnish Mishra's suspension after being caught in a TV sting operation. "But it's a one-off incident."
Well, it may have been a one-off incident for the Pune squad, but the manner in which the team owners have reacted has left the members even more uncomfortable. It was learnt that Mishra has been put up at Pune's team hotel for the last four days, and not many have access to the hard-hitting batsman.
"If the disappointment of losing eight games on a trot and the insecurity over our future was not enough, we have to see a teammate treated like this. Let's hope he comes out clean," said a Pune player.
{{/usCountry}}"If the disappointment of losing eight games on a trot and the insecurity over our future was not enough, we have to see a teammate treated like this. Let's hope he comes out clean," said a Pune player.
{{/usCountry}}Much as Ganguly and the team management tried to play down Mishra's suspension, it is weighing on the players' minds.