DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

When Tendulkar came on to bowl his curious mix of seamers and leg spin against Bangladesh recently, John Wright was at the mike. In that wry and warm way of his he said: “Sometimes when you are great at something, you can convince people you are great at other things too”. It was a terrific comment to make. It not only encompassed Tendulkar’s aura but was a larger statement about life itself. Given the miles of print already generated about Tendulkar, it’s not easy to come up with something new and insightful to say about him. But Wright did precisely that and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his work at the mike in this World Cup.

Wright has a fuzzy, encouraging style of commentary. He analyzes the mind and the game rather than the delivery or the stroke. He is constantly trying to figure out what the run of play is. What is the captain thinking? What is he trying to do? What does he need to do? He is not particularly chatty. Nor is he very animated. He speaks on an even keel mostly. But he is the master of small insights.

The observations that come from him are significant because he was coach to Team India for several years – most of them during the Ganguly era. He knows the Indian players inside out. And a lot of them who were in operation during his tenure are still playing.

We all hear enough about technique, run rates, manhattans and wagon wheels. So it’s highly absorbing when Wright starts dissecting the mind and psyche of the players. Most importantly, his commentary is full of grace, just like his personality.