The IPL publicity manager of a major sports channel said "All the 59 matches would be telecast live and the channel boasts of a 15 member strong world class commentary team consisting of Ravi Shastri , Sunil Gavaskar,Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (LS), Arun Lal,Pommie Mbangwa,Greg Blewett and Jeremy Coney."
Hmm interesting because I have never thought of anyone of them barring Shastri/Gavaskar at times to be even a decent commentator.Thank God they left Najvot Singh Sidhu out of the fray or vice versa , else it would have been a torture to watch the IPL matches listening to these blokes alongwith the Strategy Breaks,the hot cheerleaders doing some inane dance moves and offcourse watching Kolkatta Knight Riders play.
I understand that cricket , life and the BCCI were not fair to Laxman Sivaramakrishan , being a prolific spin bowler at the onset of his career he was always set up for greatness , however a return from injury send him back to the obscurity of playing domestic cricket and finally relegated him to becoming a commentating derelict. I either sracth my nails on the wall or when in a sane mood just put the TV on mute when Siva starts to comment.He gets excited in the dullest moment of a cricket match and confuses the viewer all the more.
Not everything needs to be spoken about. Commentary needs the touch of a Wong Kar Wai, not Jerry Bruckheimer, for light and shadow can be as dramatic, and more unexpected than an explosion. The perennial lilt in Siva's voice builds an image of a man who is excited by everything, even a depressingly slow passage of play. It casts on the commentator, sometimes unfairly, a light that shows his detachment from reality, and questions whether he believes his own words. The emotion of excitement is forced onto comments that do not demand that particular emotion. And like with all forced emotions, a niggling suspicion is aroused. Suspicion is not something any commentator needs from his viewers, for he loses credibility. It is a downward spiral.
Coming Greg Blewett , for once Bluey actually blew away his career in commentating completely , when asked to report on the dug out during one of the matches he responed in a very hushed tone " One thing I have noticed of critical importance today in the royals team is the level of confidence they have today ...thats it from my end back to you Sunny."Man , even I felt embarrased for him,can you imagine his plight.
Cricket commentary has become so much commercialized that the names of sponsors are mentioned in every 2-3 sentence.In IPL2 every moment of the match was a CITI moment of successs for our very own Sunil Gavaskar aka Sunny baba. For Ravi Shastri the first and last 20 overs of a game in a T20 match are very critical , mate have you forgotten that T20 is for 20 overs each so please change your line to 5 overs each.Even when the ball clears the rope for a six it becomes a DLF maximum.
As a spectator/viewer/fan Iam truly fed up with this version of commercialised and inane commentary , to the extent that Iam more than happy to devour and listen to our very own Navjot Singh Sidhu , atleast he has got a very good command over his grammar and dialect.
The key thing to learn is the value of economy with words and to never insult the viewer by telling them what they can already see.Great commentators like Benaud,Tony Greg,Cozier and Bhogle ensure that when the speak the timing is magical, the phrasing simple and the choice of what and when, quite brilliant.
I urge and plead to the sport channels to carefully cherry pick their band of cricket commentators to ensure that viwers dont get frustrated while watching a great game of cricket.
" Silence holds a certain power. It is a crutch to hold on to when words and emotions fail you. "
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