Paaji have to learn English

One of the reasons I was quite uninterested in the one-day series that India played against Sri Lanka and South Africa was that the whole thing was covered by our venerable own Doordarshan (assuming any non-Indians read this blog, that is the name of our state owned TV channel). The folks at DD sure know how to make money, and one suspects that is all they know, for the viewing experience is pretty cathartic, not a thought being wasted on making things easier on us souls. Of course, I fixed it all by turning on my Powerbook and playing my favourite JJ Cale numbers on iTunes, using the mute button to good effect. Cale seemed to put it better than Arun Lal or Sivaramakrishnan, even when he was singing about his tequila. So along comes Zee Sports now, who supposedly secured the rights for this test series with a 'lightning bid', and now have something other than Santosh Trophy and Bundesliga games between Borussia Monchengladbach and Hertha Berlin to show for all the money that Subhash Chandra had to put into it. Well, you have to give them this - Zee are making an effort, however tame; and their picture quality doesn't involve making anyone feel they're on time travel back to the 1980's. It's another matter that Lal and Siva have also surfaced here (may be I'm missing a connection there) and there's the obligatory chick (why can't we find our own Tanya Aldreds or Sue Motts?). Meanwhile, Indian cricket audiences still yearn for a commentator who can put together coherent thoughts, in English or Hindi, while uttering something other than inanities (other than the old firm of Gavaskar, Bhogle and co). If only Zee had taken the same care in putting together their team that they had shown in lobbying governments...sigh! Until they do, we must wonder how on earth did Kapil become the brand ambassador for Rapidex. If it's any consolation, at least he's no loose cannon. - NK