It may not be far fetched to assume based on an array of otherwise unrelated events and actions in the domestic cricketing world, that in the so-called, recent cleaning up of the BCCI on the basis of the Lodha Committee recommendations, its aftermath and coronation of Saurav Ganguly as its President with the return of the usual suspects – it has become business as usual, in a more favourable and congenial environ.In its re-investiture, to enforce the law of Omerta,on commentators while on or off the TV, was but a necessary and inevitable correction of important detail, in its inexorable journey to ensure an unhindered business.
Many would never believe, it was some 3 decades ago, back in the Doordarshan days,there were gag orders for commentators– no criticism of umpire decisions and nothing about team selections. Dr Narottam Puri remembers arguing and making the authorities agree to use Reliance World Cup ‘87 and not drop the sponsor mentions in sync with international practices like the Benson &Hedges World Series in Australia and other such. In fact,he envies the present day liberties granted to private channels and admitting the foreign ones had a longer rope.Qaiser Ali Mohammad, adds it was Ravi Chaturvedi, one of the early Hindi commentators who had pointed out that with Packer and Channel 9, in 1977, things had loosened up, though it took a while coming to India.
Gradually things got messier with BCCI and the ICC becoming richer and more powerful.So much so ,while some of the big guns like Sachin and Ganguly got away justifiably pointing out mistakes of organizations and star players like Dhoni and Kohli (which is, in any case the business of commentating) and making the audiences to see the larger picture- Manjrekar and Harsha Bhogle got the stick.Manjrekar got trolled by Jadeja whom he had remarked to be “a bits and pieces cricketer” as also for snubbing Bhogle to have not played enough cricket so as to be called competent when seated at the privileged box of commentating. Quite curiously,Bhogle himself was at the receiving end for having questioned the merits of the heart-stopping, narrow victory of India against Bangladesh, being played at Nagpur.In the latter case the famous tweet of Bachchan, “It would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time,”followed by Dhoni’s lame looking “nothing to add” after having perhaps, read Bhogle’s quickly rushed up response.Both came out chastened and shaken.Harsha Bhogle missed out on being on the panel for IPL sometime earlier while Manjrekar the latest offender is already taken off the domestic commentators panel for 2020.Surely, it would have changed them since as also the message received loud and clear on the ground rules of TV commentating.Nevertheless,there is no denying the uncontrolled social media, the crazy fan following ,the short-fused and arrogant cricket stars, the enormous money and wealth created have,all their little parts to play,in the sorry pass.
While it is not my brief here to point the rightness of the comments made, I am only trying to draw attention to the controlling and censoring mindsets, of an increasingly intolerant but corporatised cricketing behemoth like the BCCI.What kind of fare shall the audiences be subjected to and what picture of the game the BCCI wishes to offer is a no brainer.Job skills alone do not merit places in the Box anymore, but loyalty.Knowledge, language and creativity are no longer clinchers.Concurrent with the mood and politics of the day we see a structured silence imposed and the inescapable compromises to be made to protect privileges of the powerful and the suspension or termination of salaries or doles for the less endowed.It is unfortunately true also, we are scarcely going to find a Holding or a Chapell who would call out interference most defiantly whether in Indian TV Networks or in the ICC that would so much,as like to put limits,on what they had to say, about cricket on TV while commentating, putting to risk their fat remittances.
Notwithstanding,what however keeps me engaged and interested in this distasteful, hegemonic intimidation is the quiet but positive birthing of its antithetical other. The essential purpose seems to be independent entrepreneurs – free of company guidelines or restrictions but to be able to bring to the cricket crazy Indian or global audiences a true and honest picture of how the game is or was played and what one liked or didn’t without fear or favour.This is a smart thing to upstage corporate control,be free and independent of any external controls on very low budgets, make fading and unrecognized abilities feed into each other to offer a never-before experience – to be able to see more than it actually happens or to twist Benaud said for another very different purpose – see the couple of overs before it is actually played. Those that stand challenged, those yet to merit center stage but have been watching and helping this commercial cricket xtravaganza from the back-ends have adapted or trying to in these days of enforced lockdowns and no sport. Many of us will not know the jaw dropping technology involved,the cost effective efficiencies involved in every second of catching eyeballs by the millions,the min-shattering world of advertising, the integration and placing of the many cameras,their precise and well thought out angles,the deluge of stats and interpretation, the communication techniques and style on modern formats while in the studios or in the commentary boxes among many other things are the ideation of the manifold expertise and talents of a young and youthful gender-equal generation.Their contribution and technical excellence in the back rooms get unnoticed and unsung. But all that is fast changing .They are the Raunaks,Gaurav Kapoors,Aakash Chopras,Jaspreet’s,Sambit Bal’s,Ashish Mangotra’s,Duevikas, AAkshi’s.the Cricinfo’s that threaten the Wisden’s.. These are the new geeks who played reasonable cricket but not on the big stage – techno savvy and creative on on-line platforms who have married their love and talents with the relatively young has-beens and former test cricketers to offer no-holds-barred video-casts on the very popular but double-edged social media platforms like Instagram,Twitter,Youtube,Facebook etc .There is an interesting quid pro quo – a give and take. All these former cricketers have realized their worth even if we haven’t. They realize in the synergy of the technical knowhow at the back, interiors and the wide world with their own professional cricketing background there is a win-win for all involved. The ex-cricketers learn what they do not know and the young brat-pack get entry into privileged spaces of the game in the past and present,a kind of back door entry into ring-side seats .I am sure there will be money to be made. But that would be a fair sweat for a very modern upgrade .This would be a worthy answer to imposing any manner of control of thought or sights that would make watching cricket so very trendy and contemporary. Not boring.
In this brave new, world of private and unrestricted viewing you get to hear a Chappeli saying why captaincy was a solid thing in cricket as Benaud felt a good captain had always to be two overs ahead of the game,of a Taylor who was better than a Michael Clarke because he managed the team outside of the field too – Holding speaks of the nets, a practice platform not just for your thing both in bowling and batting but to help a mate practice his grey areas too and statistics to be an overrated input,a Vikram Rathod to be the best captain for Akash Chopra he ever played with and a Manjrekar shaking off his loose canon remarks and admitting to his indiscretions.There are many more to this new design of free expression.Very fresh and chatty.
You can put any number of gatekeepers, seal dressing rooms, gag the cricketers from speaking their minds, own and control every decent tool of honest expression deny worthy commentators to do their jobs, – the will to share and tell it all through new ways keeps hopes plentifully alive and well.The social media is being weaponised to deliver the real explosive sights and sounds, cheap but specially packaged.
This watching is strongly recommended for cricket enthusiasts only.
My encounters with Tagore
The “last of the Bengal Renaissance” many have said in tribute.Versatile, would be woefully inadequate to describe this one-in-a-zillion monk among humans !
The life and loves of Laloo Ustad
Laloo to his kindred and Sukumar to the little distant passed on the 16th of February 2024. It is said that those that the Gods love go early. Reminiscing his life and loves .
Rediscovering Murali Kartik
Murali Kartik needs to be understood better – both as a cricketer and thinker.The blogpost interviews with a gentle but deft and incisive mind reveals a depth that unsettles the sanguine.
wingedream 