'Everything about cricket excites me'

Cricket commentary has changed from the good old days of radio when Sushil Doshi held the listeners’ attention with a gripping and racy narration.

A commentator’s role has changed with the advent of visual media. The gripping narration now has to be steeped in adventure, excitement and loads of action.

Gaurav Kapoor, the commentator and anchor for ‘Extra Innings’, confesses that he loves cricket in any form and anything about the sport can get him talking non-stop.

“The art of story-telling, during the IPL, is to merge cricket and entertainment. Cricket is serious business but to say it interestingly is an art in itself,” Gaurav says. Gaurav can talk non-stop and mind you he never gets repetitive and monotonous at any time.

The unlimited cups of coffee keep the ideas following. But does he think the IPL has lost its sheen? “It’s funny that people arrive at conclusions about the IPL losing its sheen so soon. I think there’s more excitement this season. You can’t really predict who will win, until the end. Most teams and owners think that balance is everything. We’ve seen a good mix this year,” he says. He adds that the IPL is just in its fifth season and people are quick to judge things.

“We see that the stadiums across the country are packed, especially for the evening games,” he notes.  With all the scams that surround the IPL and the news of match-fixing going around, does he feel this can bother people? “People don’t really care about these things. If one is a hard-core the IPL fan, the game comes before everything else. The IPL is here to stay,” Gaurav observes.

He confesses that it pays to be focussed before every show. “You have to be informed about what is happening on and off the field. And like I said, anything even vaguely related to cricket gets me excited. And every show gives me a fresh insight into the game,” he sums up.