Imagine taking your star commentator with universal acclaim and ‘muting’ him before your biggest tournament. If you can’t, you’re not alone. Like standup comedian Praveen Kumar aptly puts, “The whole thing is like getting fired from working in a biryani restaurant because you said something good about veg biryani.” The news of Harsha Bhogle’s ouster from IPL’s commentary box, didn’t sit pretty with cricket fans who took to social media to vent their woes. We speak to city folk on why they’ll miss his familiar voice and who they think will rise up to the occasion at the ninth edition of the cash-rich game.
Sunil Gavaskar, who was also shown the door by the BCCI not too long ago, took to Twitter to say, ‘Harsha Bhogle must be feeling like that police officer, who got suspended because he did his duty honestly,’ which quite literally sums up the feels.
Can Bhogle be replaced? “We only have former cricketers who speak in hyperbole and Sidhu is an embarrassment. I miss Bhogle, he brought value,” says Aishwarya Subramanian, a Corp Com executive.
While fans of the game are united on the sentiment that Bhogle was unmatched thanks to his analysis, opinion and experience, they also think the recipient of maximum trolls, Navjot Singh Sidhu, is well, the worst. “Sidhu commentating is like Dhoni batting with tailenders. He will not give any others a chance to play,” opines Praveen. His fellow standup comedian, Ajay Samson agrees, “Harsha keeps it interesting by even speaking about things that aren’t cricket related too. Mostly, he doesn’t make me watch the match on mute, unlike Sidhu.”
This season, aside of the familiar face of Sanjay Manjrekar, the team of Indian commentators will include VVS Laxman, Siva Rama Krishnan, Anjum Chopra and Murali Karthik. Pakistan’s Rameez Raja and Waqar Younis, New Zealand’s Simon Doull and Nathan McCullum also make an appearance. “As a cricket fan, I would like to know more about the strategy and science of the game – right from toss to the last ball. Laxman’s analysis comes from experience and he brings in the perspective of a player. He also talks more like a player and less like a wannabe expert,” says Ajay about another favourite in the commentary box.
“Although Pro-Kabaddi has him now, his suave, authoritative delivery of words and his keen understanding of the game made Charu Sharma another favourite while watching cricket,” says Dilip Kumar, an ardent fan from the city. Although this is the IPL we are talking about, Sourav Ganguly has got to be mentioned. “His shirt-swinging antics translates brilliantly into giving it back to the opposition commentator as we’ve seen on more than one occasion.
And why is he entertaining? Because he speaks his mind, something for which people are apparently getting sacked these days,” says Samskruti Reddy, a student from the city. But if you miss Harsha Bhogle’s familiar voice in the box, don’t fret. Get on to his Twitter and you’ll see that he’d never really stopped.
