Loosening up

It’s been 24 hours since I was given the freedom to start blogging by Cricinfo’s editors. It’s also been 24 hours since I decided to read Mukul Kesavan’s last post. “Blues Brothers” succeeds – perhaps replaces is a better word – “Men in White” and I attempt to fit the shoes of someone of a bigger size. It was appropriate, I felt, to read that valediction, in homage if nothing else.

Then I read the responses; at the time there were 126 readers who’d mailed back following that final post. Some liked Mukul and said they’d miss him; others loathed him and couldn’t wait to share their glee at him leaving the crease. Either way, there was strong emotion and great vehemence. It scared me. In India, in cyberspace at least, we take our cricket seriously. Writing on politics – which is my day job – seems almost tension free in comparison.

Well, 24 hours are enough to battle trepidation. It’s appropriate to start with an introduction. Like all cricket fans, I’m a contradiction. I grew up reading of the Golden Age of Cricket, of Trumper and Clem Hill (with whom, I discovered to my utter joy, I share a birthday). Yet, as March vanishes into April, I can’t but confess I’m looking forward to the IPL razzmatazz. True, it’s not the same game – but it’s the only one we have.

This blog is supposed to be a wide-eyed fan’s view. As a journalist, and one who writes occasionally on the business and politics of cricket, I cannot entirely escape the cynic’s view. So this blog will perhaps reflect the inner confusion of the blogger. So much like the great game isn’t it – immaculate defence one ball, cross-bat swipe the next? Cricket brings out the paradox of life.

It’s a strange day to start. A Test match has begun and I haven’t been able to watch it. I don’t get Neo on my television, Doordarshan is not showing the matches – more correctly, not stealing pictures it couldn’t legitimately buy – and even old All India Radio has walked away from ball-by-ball commentary.

I’ve followed the match on Cricinfo. By tomorrow, I’ll have to make amends and contact my DTH service provider and get that damned Neo signal. Maybe radio commentary will come my way too in the coming months. India has a plethora of private FM stations but they’re banned from broadcasting news. Live sports matches constitute news and so there’s no commentary on private FM stations.

The government, I hear, is considering, allowing news broadcast on private radio. So is cricket on FM the next media revolution my generation must encounter and come to terms with? Will my son, all of 17 months, grow up listening to Delhi Daredevils pulverise Chennai Superkings (and are those corny names) on FM? Will he read my collection of cricket books? Will he watch Test cricket at all?

Come to think of it, will we watch Test cricket at all, at least this year? After a pulsating tour of Australia that was, really, the best advertisement for Test match cricket, with all the attendant ceremony and drama, the BCCI has just announced that it’s cutting down the England series in India from three Tests to two. To make up, Mr Sharad Pawar and his friends will torture us with a meaningless ODI tri-series in Bangladesh in the midsummer madness of June!

What was that about carefully nurturing Test cricket and not allowing it to be overwhelmed by ODIs and T20 and IPL? Oh just another BCCI yarn ...