Commentators are being more and more compromised by controlling organisations to the points of censorship, feels former West Indian speedster and respected TV pundit Michael Holding
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan had questioned the loyalty of 바카라an Indian TV commentator바카라 in a midnight tweet on March 24, 2016, following India바카라s providential one-run win against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup. Although he hadn바카라t named anyone, Harsha Bhogle, a commentator in that match, sent a reply to Bachchan via a direct message on Twitter. He hurriedly put together 499 words on Facebook to explain the nuances of a cricket broadcast.
바카라It would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time,바카라 Bachchan had tweeted. But Bhogle, the articulate chemical engineer, on 바카라some people바카라s바카라 guess 바카라assumed바카라 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 Bachchan바카라s tweet, M.S. Dhoni wrote on Twitter: 바카라Nothing to add.바카라 It was interpreted as support for Bachchan and a criticism of Bhogle. And, lo and behold, an avalanche hit Bhogle that tumultuous night. Yet, till now, no one has explained for sure who Bachchan바카라s target was. The result of that midnight mayhem: Bhogle바카라s lovers and haters were split vertically.
A similar incident of a sharply divisive cricketing remark was witnessed after India바카라s 31-run defeat to pre-tournament favourites England on June 30 in the ongoing World Cup. Players-turned-commentators Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Aakash Chopra questioned the 바카라intent바카라 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. Subsequently, a theory was floated바카라its origin unknown바카라that the Indian team had an eye on its run rate, thinking it might come handy for the semi-final qualification equation. In the event, India qualified 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. 바카라I바카라m not a big fan of bits-and-pieces players which Jadeja is at this point of his career in 50-over cricket,바카라 he said. Jadeja reacted sharply: 바카라Still i have played twice the number of matches you have played and i m still playing (sic). Learn to respect ppl who have achieved. i have heard enough of your verbal diarrhoea,바카라 he tweeted.
The slow scoring rate of India바카라s middle-order had been flagged earlier, after India바카라s narrow win against Afghanistan, when Sachin Tendulkar told a news channel: 바카라I was also not happy with the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni바카라. We batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119 runs바카라. There was no positive intent.바카라
However, passionate cricket fans venting on social 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 capabilities of Dhoni or any other player. But, as expectations soar impossibly in cricket바카라s biggest show, a player or the team바카라s failure to live up to those creates 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 commentators is increasing. 바카라A commentator has the right to say what he feels like, according to his judgement, as long as he바카라s not being mean. He shouldn바카라t be penalised for that. There are too many views on social media, it바카라s inevitable. The situation is getting out of hand,바카라 the once-debonair Baig tells Outlook.
Puri, an ENT surgeon-cum-commentator, agreed with Ganguly바카라s views after the loss to England. 바카라He was absolutely right when he said there was no point in saving wickets. You [Manjrekar바카라s detractors] were not worried about that part, but took on Manjrekar, who is a little more vocal about everything. Nobody is criticising Ganguly while Manjrekar maybe guilty of his choice of words,바카라 says Puri.
Compared to Indian commentators, those in other cricketing nations have much more freedom to criticise, and express strong opinions. Still, compared with the government바카라s instructions for commentators on Doordarshan about 30 years ago바카라a list of do바카라s and don바카라ts that barred them from criticising team selection and umpires바카라those describing the game now on private channels have much more freedom, says Puri.
바카라Before the 1987 World Cup, the government instructed us to refrain from calling it Reliance World Cup, the chief sponsor. But we argued that if tournaments could be called Benson & Hedges series in Australia and John Player League in England, why not Reliance World Cup, and won the day,바카라 says Puri.
Veteran commentator Ravi Chaturvedi points out how TV commentary changed drastically after the rebel Kerry Packer series in Australia in 1977 as it became 바카라more chatty바카라. 바카라Before Packer, there used to be one commentator and one expert. Packer brought two commentators on Channel 9 and they talked even when the action was on. Earlier, commentators would stop as the bowler started his run-up,바카라 recalls the professor of zoology. But he defends present-day Indian commentators: 바카라It has become the norm that you can바카라t criticise players, who anyway don바카라t take criticism sportingly.바카라
If it was the Indian government earlier who tried to control commentators, in 2019 the International Cricket Council바카라s (ICC) rights partner reminded them midway through the World Cup that their 바카라duty is not to judge or highlight mistakes바카라 of umpires. It came after Michael Holding criticised the umpire for failing to spot a clear no ball that eventually led to Chris Gayle바카라s dismissal in the West Indies-Australia match (Australia won by 15 runs). When the ICC rights partner wrote to Holding about his comments, the West Indian fast bowling legend delivered a thunderbolt in his letter, writing that 바카라commentators are being more and more compromised by controlling organisations to the point of censorship바카라.
While the ICC employs commentators for its tournaments, the BCCI hires them for bilateral series at home, the IPL, and domestic tournaments. That바카라s why when Bachchan tweeted against 바카라an Indian commentator바카라, and Dhoni endorsed it, the BCCI may have been swayed/influenced to drop Bhogle for the 2016 IPL. Bhogle바카라s detailed explanation was not just to defend himself, but can be seen as a statement on behalf of all Indian commentators.
Later, Bhogle wrote: 바카라The pictures are largely the same but the telecast goes to a fairly well-defined geographical zone. And obviously, to people who understand Hindi. There the commentary can be India-centric, but not biased. You can look at every situation from an Indian point of view; that is acceptable바카라something you cannot do on a world feed.바카라
Bhogle, a well-mannered Hyderabadi, even addressed passionate Indian fans: 바카라I have always felt that people take commentary, and commentators, too seriously. We are merely storytellers, the players create the story. We don바카라t influence the game and our role is no more than to be a guide바카라.바카라
Yet, Jadeja did take Manjrekar very seriously when he made his 바카라bits-and-pieces바카라 comment, while ignoring what he said in the same breath: 바카라In Test matches, he is a pure bowler. But in 50-over cricket, I would rather have a batsman and a spinner.바카라 Since Jadeja바카라s 바카라verbal diarrhoea바카라 tweet, there has been no reaction from the BCCI and the Indian team management, maybe because no one wants to distract the team바카라s focus till it was a World Cup title contender. But, since a BCCI code of conduct is firmly in place, it remains to be seen if any action would be taken against Jadeja, now that India has ended its WC campaign after losing the semi-final against New Zealand by 18 runs.
Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, would not have had to face a royal roasting from fans had there been well-defined, strict guidelines for users of social media. In its absence, it is a chaotic free-for-all out there. Is it a surprise that Manjrekar, who proved to be a more successful commentator/writer than a Test batsman, trended for days on Twitter? Unsurprisingly, commenting on the furore, he tweeted: 바카라Criticism, abuse?...I see only love for me on Twitter.바카라