HYDERABAD: As the Orange Army zooms ahead in the Indian Premier League, commentators from our own home-ground are ecstatic. For years, commentary on IPL was limited to Hindi and English but last year, Star Sports 1 Telugu opened up new horizons when the match was presented in Telugu. Former cricketer and mana Telugu guy, Yalaka Venugopal Rao brings to the table relatability and his flair of mother tongue. Along with Venkatapathi Raju another esteemed player, the duo is now taking over the commentator’s box. We speak to Venugopal Rao about his experience on the other side of the fence.
Excerpts:
Have you been enjoying being in the box instead of the field?
It’s been 22 years since my debut and I have even played for the IPL thrice. As a cricketer you will always love being on the pitch but now I am starting to enjoy commentary as well.
I can use all the experience I have and talk about it. It is something you don’t get to do as a player. There are so many factors that can be useful in understanding the game better which a cricketer would know and a common spectator might not. I try to bring that into the forefront in the simplest way possible.
Does the home-team bias every sneak into the commentary? Do you stay conscious of that?
I am obviously excited by the SRH because mana team, Telugolla team. But I guess, we are all players first. So we appreciate the game first before our personal bias takes over. Having said that, I am a little more excited when it is our Indian players on the field. Even more so when it is young talent. I was once in the same position and when they do well, it makes me evidently excited.
Does the box get heated up every now and then, what with hot-headed players thrown in together to discuss rivalries?
I have to admit, it is never like that. Rivalries are left on the field. Here we discuss the game. We share what we know and learn from what the co-commenter has to offer. End of the day we are all learning.
The commentary is in your mother tongue, but being fluent is obviously not enough when you are in the box. Did it take time for you to get the hang of the lingo?
I got comfortable as I progressed. Also, Star has a professional programme for training us. I speak a certain way, but I was also guided about some words and phrases that would be understood by all the Telugu dialects. We trained on voice-culture, Telugu-words, accent training and modulation which really helped when we started off.
How has the response to your Telugu commentary been?
Although a lot of people were apprehensive about Telugu commentary being strange, it has grown on them. I am not talking about the tier two audience, they would anyway watch the Telugu commentary. My friends, urban audience, they made fun of it in the beginning but as they watched they started understanding the words and the game a lot better. Now they are in awe of it! Moreover, speaking in our mother-tongue about the sport we love only brings all of us together.