As the timbare, dandiya, and bhangra beats thunderously reverberate in the background, and the bowler warms up calculating his next delivery, Mayanti Langer looks intently into the camera.
Sporting a pretty purple top and elegantly carrying off her impeccably groomed raven hair, her thoughts are that of how the next shot will take shape and how that could change the course of the game.
With the Karnataka Premier League wrapping up on Thursday, the anchor of the show is at the edge of her seat. The realisation that her role at the second season of the KPL is coming to an end, only makes her say that she has a longer road ahead of her.
T h e sports anchor from N e w D e l h i who grew up on football and freestyle swimming, says that it was only four years ago that she started developing an interest in cricket.
“Till then, I was a football person,” she smiles. “My father worked for the UN and that took us to New York. We were there for four years. My brother and I trained in football and swimming then,” she says. Mayanti set up a girls football league in college and easily slipped into role of a ‘soccer girl’ before coming back to India.
And when she realised that sports was her calling, opportunity came knocking at her door. “When I was given a chance to be the host of Football Cafe on Zee Sports, I didn’t hesitate,” she says.
Mayanti, who was the anchor for the Hockey World Cup that was held in Noida recounts the experience. “I decided to take it up as a challenge.
I remember watching videos on You- Tube, in an attempt to familiarise myself with the world of hockey,” she says. And that wasn’t the last World Cup she hosted — FIFA World Cup 2010 soon came calling.
“I approached ESPN before the FIFA World Cup. And I was given the green signal. It was a surreal experience being the anchor for the World Cup. I was hosting the show with people like John Dykes. I grew up watching these people on television,” she says. About the KPL, she says that though the build up has not been enough, when compared to last season, the level of competition has dramatically improved. “I was the anchor last season too. And I clearly see those teams that didn’t do well last year performing extremely well this time,” she notes.
What does she have to tell those critics who say that women sports hosts are just for glamour? “I’m not going to apologise for the way I look.
But I will apologise for the mistakes I make as a host,” she wraps up.