Comments on Cricket Commentators
Problem with Indian cricket commentators even for TV is that most suffer from usual Indian verbal diarrhea of argumentative kind .They know it is not Radio but keep on yapping and trying to show their so called knowledge , disturbing the ball by ball display .The situation is made worse by endless mostly stupid ads mostly either copied from the West or imagined and forced by illiterate oil, detergent or peanut selling Baniyas with little vision or taste repeating the ads as if the public is dumb like them. Nowhere in the world except in India , the TV audience is so shabbily treated .They are the backbone of the game providing revenues .Sometimes hardly 40% of the time is given for the ball to ball display in between .Watching a batsman out is as satisfactory as coitus interreptus .Verily it only confirms that Indians are killjoys .I immediately change the channel for a minute or so .
Take for example one Arun Lal and Ravi Shastri, born perhaps with genetic inferiority complex . Arun lal is so biased . he is always wishing and willing for the fall of Indian wicket or a century by the opponents . Is he bribed as are Pakistani players by India's opponents. It is worth a check .Ravi Shastri is not much better .No wonder they are favourites of countries playing against India and are called up . They are like non-Indian NRIs and non-Indian RIs. Thank God for intelligent former great player-commentator Sunil Gavaskar. Will the BCCI ban Lal and Shastri from Indian matches . Just listen to Australian, English or Pakistani commentators .
Among the worst foreign commentators is Tony Greig of apartheid south African origin whose commentary against Indian players is almost racist .He has been involved in many unsporting controversies .A major one I recall when as MCC captain in mid 1970s, before the tour ,he had declared that he will make the West Indies growl , reminding them of the slave era. The elegant and brilliant West Indian players said nothing but Tony was welcomed with short pitched fast bouncers around his ears at over 6ft .He was soon out and some West Indian players quietly escorted him out up to the boundary line towards the pavilion .In a recent test against Srilnka , when Indian batter Suresh Raina was on 96, Tony (do all Tony's like Tony Blair suffer from some grave malady ) recalled how Raina was once out first ball by Murlitharan , who was to bowl .The embarrassed Srilankan commentator reminded that since then Raina had played hundred ODIs and T-20s and many centuries .Raina got his century.Such racists must be banned.
A refreshing change is a former Australian captain now commentator , Ian Chappel , which is a pleasure to listen too .He is more of an exception among Australian politicians and cricketers, and almost all diplomats and press men I met with in my 35 years as a diplomat and 15 as a analyst of international affairs .
http://tarafits-archives.blogspot.com/2010/10/india-and-cricket-world-cup-cocktail-of.html
Retd Ambassador K. Gajendra Singh 10/10/10
