Era of cricket’s radio commentators has ended; golden memories linger on

Before the advent of television in India, cricket lovers had to rely on the radio to get the latest news about the action within the stadiums. Ball-by-ball commentary on the radio had its own charm although there were no visuals. Some of the commentators described the action so well that listeners felt that they were watching the proceedings with their eyes.

One of the pioneers of cricket commentary on the radio was Ardeshir Furdorji Sohrabji Talyarkhan, a very well known sports journalist of those days. He was famous for his commentary as well as newspaper articles. He belonged to the Parsi community and was popularly known as Bobby Talyarkhan.

He was one of the earliest cricket commentators in India. His radio commentaries played an important role in popularising the game among the laymen. Back then hockey was India’s most popular sport because the Indian hockey team was acknowledged as the best in the world. India’s footballers were also hogging the limelight. But the cricketers were losing most matches.

Drew people to cricket

However, Talyarkhan’s cricket commentary was so erudite and descriptive that it drew the people towards cricket. His very first commentary was heard in the year 1934 when the Bombay Quadrangular tournaments used to be played between teams made up of players from different religious communities. The teams were named Hindus, Muslims, Parsees and Europeans.

Talyarkhan had a superb command of the English language and his vocabulary was extensive. He was never at a loss to describe the players and their actions. But he had a drawback too. He disliked sharing the microphone and did the commentaries all by himself throughout the day.

Problems faced by commentators

Usually, commentators find it very stressful to do this. Harsha Bhogle once narrated the problems of commentators who had no partners to share the job. “If you felt thirsty, or your throat dried up after speaking non-stop, you would naturally want to take a break and sip some water or tea. Or perhaps you may need to go to the washroom. But if a commentator is all alone, then he cannot leave his seat. Only AFS Talyarkhan was capable of doing it all alone.”

Historian, author and cricket fan Ramachandra Guha has written that Talyarkhan brought to cricket broadcasting a rich, fruity voice and a fund of anecdotes. His self-control was superhuman, for he would speak without interruptions. His career with All India Radio ended when AIR insisted on having a team of three commentators to which Talyarkhan disagreed and then he walked out of the commentary box forever.

Household names

There were several other famous commentators too such as Pearson Surita, Balu Alaganan, and Anant Setalvad who became household names. Parliamentarian and quiz expert Derek O’Brien has written that radio commentary used to compel the listeners to use their imagination. Derek’s favourite commentators were Berry Sarbadhikari, Dicky Rutnagur and Kishore Bhimani.

Commentators Balu Alaganan and Anant Setalvad were good cricketers when they were young. Balu Alaganan captained the Tamil Nadu (then called Madras) Ranji trophy side. He led the star-studded team to its maiden Ranji trophy victory in 1955.

But apart from commentators, also in the commentary box would be a few ex-players to provide the expert comments. This correspondent remembers one occasion when Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was the expert. The situation in the match was that India was struggling and the case was hopeless. Defeat was certain for India. But each of the commentators gave their own opinion about what tactics would be best for India to follow.

One said all the fielders should be placed on the boundary line, and another talked of bowling only on the leg side. After a while, one commentator turned to Pataudi and asked, “If you were the captain today, what would you have done in this situation?”

Pataudi gave him a very brief reply.
“I would have prayed to God,” he said.

Every time Pataudi was a member of the commentary team, his sense of humour, quick repartee, and keen observations made listening to radio commentaries a wonderfully enriching and rewarding experience.