An outstanding commentator

A sigh of relief finally prevailed over the burning land in this part of the world. An outrageous wave of heat had roasted the capital region over the past few weeks and there seemed no respite until this morning. Thunderous spells of rains and winds came about just at the time when serenity found a place in my daily affairs too. So here comes a post after a relatively longer hiatus.

Quite often in life, people recognize somebody just by virtue of the work that they do over the years. For example, when one talks of Indian music, Lata Mangeshkar is the obvious name that comes to mind. Then there are a set of individuals who kind of play a second fiddle (sometimes third, fourth or so on) and by no means, they are less important purely because their contribution is absolutely necessary for the respective fraternity. This post is also about one such individual.

Imagine watching a cricket match on TV without a good commentary. Sounds boring. It is indeed. A good commentary aids to overall experience of watching the game on TV. In today’s world, where all the review shows and commentary teams comprise of ex-cricketers or senior players, there is one individual who has never played cricket at the highest level but is synonymous with cricket commentary for about two decades and more now.

The more I see of this person, the more I get impressed. The ease with which he brings out his knowledge of the game is remarkable. His insights are wonderful as far as the strategies in any forms of the game are concerned. Be it review shows, be it TV commentary, be it a column in newspaper or be it a post-match presentation – he leaves the reader or viewer wanting for more. He is a joy to listen or read for a cricket fan like me and without doubt, many more :)

Interestingly, this person was a student of chemical engineering and went to IIM-A. Without doubt, cricket would have been in his blood for long. Rather it would be better to say that commentary would have been his passion over the years, especially after noting that he began his career as a commentator with All India Radio at the age of 19. You may read more about this person here. His’ are one of such contributions that gives life to live broadcasting of the matches as well as the media business itself at times.