open calls
by Qaiser Mohammad AliB
ollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan
had questioned the loyalty of “an Indian
TV commentator” in a midnight tweet on
March 24, 2016, following India’s provi-
dential one-run win against Bangladesh
in the T20 world Cup. Although he
hadn’t named anyone, Harsha Bhogle, a com-
mentator in that match, sent a reply to Bach-
chan via a direct message on Twitter. He hur-
riedly put together 499 words on Facebook to
explain the nuances of a cricket broadcast.
“It would be really worthy of an Indian commen-
tator to speak more about our players than others
all the time,” Bachchan had tweeted. But Bhogle,
the articulate chemical engineer, on “some peo-
ple’s” guess ‘assumed’ that Bachchan was referring
to him. So, he felt it was incumbent upon him to
expatiate on the complexity of a cricket telecast.
Significantly, within minutes of Bachchan’s tweet,
M.S. Dhoni wrote on Twitter: “Nothing to add.” It
was interpreted as support for Bachchan and a
criticism of Bhogle. And, lo and behold, an ava-
lanche hit Bhogle that tumultuous night. Yet, till
now, no one has explained for sure who Bachchan’s
target was. The result of that midnight mayhem:
Bhogle’s lovers and haters were split vertically.
A similar incident of a sharply divisive cricketing
remark was witnessed after India’s 31-run defeat to
pre-tournament favourites England on June 30 in
the ongoing World Cup. Players-turned-comm-
entators Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, and
Aakash Chopra questioned the ‘intent’ of Dhoni (42
not out off 31 balls) and Kedar Jadhav (12 not out
off 13 balls) for not going for big shots in the last few
overs as the required run rate mounted. Sub-
sequently, a theory was floated—its origin unk-
nown—that the Indian team had an eye on its run
rate, thinking it might come handy for the semi-
final qualification equation. In the event, Indiaqualified as the top team of the league phase.
During the World Cup, Manjrekar had also made
a comment on Ravindra Jadeja, the left-handed
all-rounder. “I’m not a big fan of bits-and-pieces
players which Jadeja is at this point of his career in
50-over cricket,” he said. Jadeja reacted sharply:
“Still i have played twice the number of matches you
have played and i m still playing (sic). Learn to
res pect ppl who have achieved. i have heard enough
of your verbal diarrhoea,” he tweeted.
The slow scoring rate of India’s middle-order
had been flagged earlier, after India’s narrow win
against Afghanistan, when Sachin Tendulkar
told a news channel: “I was also not happy with
the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni.... We
batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119
runs.... There was no positive intent.”
However, passionate cricket fans venting on soc-
ial media went only after Manjrekar, with a few
saying they muted the sound of their TV sets when
he came on air. Curiously, in this fevered heat of the
World Cup, no one questions the integrity or capa-
bilities of Dhoni or any other player. But, as expec-
tations soar impossibly in cricket’s biggest show, a
player or the team’s failure to live up to those cre-
ates incredible frustration and hastily pronounced
harsh criticism.
Former India Test batsman Abbas Ali Baig and
TV/radio commentators Narottam Puri and Ravi
Chaturvedi feel intolerance towards commenta-
tors is increasing. “A commentator has the right to
say what he feels like, according to his judgement,
as long as he’s not being mean. He shouldn’t be
pen alised for that. There are too many views on
social media, it’s inevitable. The situation is get ting
out of hand,” the once-debonair Baig tells Outlook.
Puri, an ENT surgeon-cum-commentator,
agreed with Ganguly’s views after the loss tosoundproof
echo chamber
Commentators aren’t immune to vitriol
anymore. Armed with social media, fans
and the odd player are tearing into them.Since a BCCI
code of
conduct is in
place, it is to
be seen if any
action will be
taken against
Jadeja.backchat commentators Michael
Vaughan, Ganguly, Manjrekar and bhogle52 OutlOOk 22 July 2019