Doordarshan's horror show - your views on the coverage

DD coverage has been totally appalling and it doesn't have professionalism to match the private channels. There should be accountability on the part of DD employees. They think nobody can question them as they are working in a government organization. They can be stripped of their work for the way they are doing this coverage. Sivakumar Veeramani

Doordarshan has been depriving the Indian cricket fan of the pleasure of watching cricket in a proper manner for decades. The ads start even before the commentator has barely finished announcing the score at the end of an over. If there was a good shot played on the last ball of an over, they don't even bother to wait till the replay is shown. It is really a shame. There should be some strong legislation in place to stop this greed. Yashodhan Gune

The worst bit is the first ball of the day. They show us the fielding team walking on the ground and immediately, the next second, the bowler is at the bowling crease, bowling the first ball of the day. There is no organized and structured telecast. Ravi Kiran

True, the quality of coverage is poor, but still there is some cricket on view for the ordinary people. If you were in the U.K., there is none from 2006 onwards for the common public -- you need to subscribe to expensive Sky Sports. I am somewhat sympathetic towards Doordarshan. Parimal Bag

It is a shame that Doordarshan was finally awarded the rights to telecast the home cricket matches. Your article reminded me of the four and five ball overs. I remember commercials ran till just in time to show the bowler releasing the second ball of the over. People may argue it is free. Watching cricket on Doordarshan is a pain. Ranganatha Gonugunta

I totally agree with the issue regarding Doordarshan's way of broadcasting .The post-match shows make no sense to a person with any knowledge of cricket. In this age of modern day cricket what the people want is some serious cricket stuff and not the stupid smiles and funny banter. Let God drive some sense into the heads of the BCCI administrators. It is for them to see that the people of India are not taken for a ride. Viswanathan

I am a member of the Bharat Army in the UK, we follow Indian cricket with real passion but as fans we feel let down by the last minute TV rights farce as well as incompetent coverage. Last year sky sports managed to get rights for the India v Pakistani series. It was superb coverage as we got to even see what it meant to India to win as we could see the post-match celebrations and interviews. With other broadcasters we pay money and we are not returned with the proper level of service we deserve. As soon as a session is over, it's straight to commercials and songs with Sony TV. We get to see no real analysis of each of the sessions and it's a real shame. The successful bidder should be chosen on how well they will provide the coverage, not on how much they are willing to bid. Harminder Duhra

I honestly and truly agree with the article on Doordarshan. I believe cricket is being absolutely stripped of its pride and honor when money and profits take priority over the game itself. I would have loved to hear what Dravid had to say about his artistic innings that day. I would have loved to hear what Inzaman had to say at the end of his patient and hard fought innings. A series between India and Pakistan is indeed worth more than any amount of money to the millions watching, it carries so much history, pride and spirit. I really do not care if Sachin likes his new bike. I do however care about how he would review his own innings or the team's performance. Gaurav Sokhi

Doordarshan should be disqualified from telecasting anything live. Karthik

In fact their telecast is so grossly incompetent that one is left full of disgust and in deep despair when such important occasions are missed. Events like close calls, replays, and so many other interesting scenes are just not shown. Tilak

I wish these Indian organizations and many others could reach some level of professionalism. But I guess that would be too much to ask for. Foreign channels like ESPN-Star are no saints. But at least they deliver what they charge the people for: a broadcast that is full of quality and that complements the sport. Bruce DePenha

Doordharshan survives because it is the only channel that is available to everyone in India. Chandrabhas Narayana

If Doordarshan wants to telecast matches in the national interest, then why are they in a money-making frenzy? Can there be a solution to this, because just the thought of the same thing happening during the nail biting one-day series that is going to follow just gives me nightmares. Girish Raj

It is embarrassing to see a national network, my national network, to be so horribly amateur. I've seen high school productions with better skills than Doordarshan. They claim to show cricket for the people! I cannot imagine anybody actually enjoying the coverage. Ritesh Rathi