Remember where you were and what you were doing at 12:27pm on Thursday April 30, for it was a momentous occasion. Tirumalasetti Suman, batting for Deccan Chargers against Delhi in the IPL cleared the fence over the covers for half a dozen runs. That in itself isn't that momentous, although the young all-rounder was included ahead of VVS Laxman, but it was for events off the field. Neither commentator referred to it as a 'DLF maximum'.
That is quite incredible. This tournament has turned previously decent commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into little more than cheap advertisers with their plugs for the tournament sponsors any time someone does something well. That makes this incident a turning point. I expect nothing less than a retraining course for Mark Nicholas and Kepler Wessels though summary sacking remains a viable and likely option.
After all, the BCCI thinks it controls commentators as well as players these days. In the Indian tour of New Zealand over the winter, Sky NZ had Craig McMillan in the com-box, much to the BCCI's chagrin because he went to play in the rebel ICL for a bit. In keeping with that Kiwi spirit that saw the ANZUS Treaty ripped up when New Zealand told the US to feck off if they thought they were allowing their nuclear subs into it's waters, Sky told the BCCI to flip off and keep it's nose out of business that clearly wasn't theirs.
Moreover, whatever happened to the professional commentator in cricket? In most sports you have a lead commentator who knows the job with colour provided by an ex-pro. Not in cricket. Your voice is only allowed anywhere near if you've played at the top level (though Nicholas is pushing it). At Sky in the UK, you really need to have been an England captain to stand a chance. While the knowledge of the game isn't up for dispute - even in Nasser Hussain's case - some leave a lot to be desired when it comes to adding verbal illustration to the pictures.
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