the-south-asian.com                                       March 2003

Home

MARCH  2003 
Contents

 

 In News

 'Envoys to the
  Unknown'

 Murphy's Law &
 Columbia Disater

 
 Music
 
  Talvin Singh

 
 Cricket
 
 5 decades of Cricket
 in Pakistan

 Voice of Cricket

 Films
 
 Ashvin Kumar's
 'Road to Ladakh'

 
 Art

 Art by another name -
 New Age Artists

 
 Research
 
 Neurogenesis and
 songbirds

 
 Books

 Serialisation of  'Knock at every alien 
 door' - Joseph Harris
 

 Events

 Int'l Sporting Events

 the craft shop

 Lehngas - a limited collection

 the print gallery

 Books

 Silk Road on Wheels

 The Road to Freedom

  Enduring Spirit

 Parsis-Zoroastrians of India

  The Moonlight Garden

 Contemporary Art in
 Bangladesh
 

   about us              back-issues           contact us         search             data bank

  craft shop

print gallery

Page  1  of  2

The Voice of Cricket

By 

Avinash Kalla

L-R: Harsh Bhogle, Navjot Sidhu, Darain Shahidi, Jason Dasey

" All the smart talk may look very simple on screen but it isn’t always easy," says Harsha Bhogle, considered to be one of the two most heard voices and seen faces in the world of cricket coverage---the other being that of Sunil Gavaskar.

" There are no two ways about it. You need to be relaxed on screen at least in the upper half of body, even though the lower half may be quaking with nervousness," says the 41-year-old Bhogle who has come a long way from his Hyderabad roots to earn a worldwide reputation as cricket's numero uno commentator.

An IIM graduate from Ahemdabad, Bhogle's tryst with cricket began in the seventies. The wiry, bespectacled Hyderabadi played with Azaharuddin at the Osmania University. But his talent didn't carry him far in cricket. In fact that was all the experience he'd actually have of playing the game he so authoritatively comments upon today. Most of his knowledge of the game came from closely observing Gavaskar's fluid strokes and following the commentary word for word. Such was his obsession with the Little Master that he would happily skip studies till Gavaskar walked back to the pavilion.

Not that the temporary abdication of his studies ever came in the way of his education. After his degree from IIM, Bhogle’s love for the willow never flagged. If he couldn't play in the high leagues at least he could become a commentator. And that’s what he has become.

Sitting in the box with the icons of cricket has given Bhogle an air of relaxed confidence. Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Geoff Boycott and Dean Jones openly confess their fondness for his effable persona and his ever-ready smile. He is never found wanting for the correct phrase or the right word at the right time. A man who can stand up to legends and match them observation for observation. Which in a way explains why his style has caught the imagination of the cricket cognoscenti both in India and abroad.Says he, " You must have a thoroughly professional approach to your work and more importantly you must enjoy what you are doing."

Darain Shahidi - " ... loves to communicate'

While having fun at work is the driving force for Harsha, it’s the thrill of breaking news   that gives a high to Darain Shahidi, the presenter of Sports Center and anchor of Super Selector series. It's been an eventful decade for Shahidi. Starting as a reporter and producer in the now defunct BiTV, he moved on to BBC as its first Hindi news anchor on television. From there he joined Star TV in 1998 and mainly anchored prime time live news as also a phone-in programme, Sawaal Aapke. Now the 32-year-old is a show host on ESPN Star Sports’ Super Selector which is India's first live game show. The man from the Buddhist holy city of Gaya, Shahidi says he just loves to communicate. This probably was the reason why he didn’t mind taking up journalism in Hindi after graduating in English honours from Jamia Milia Islamia University.

" Sports is all about winning and losing gracefully," says Shahidi and then echoes the thoughts of Harsha, " Information is the key. You must be able to deliver your views with an impact and strike a rapport with your audience."