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A snapshot view of cricket

By Rahul Banerji

Harsha (it is difficult to call him anything else, so well-known and familiar a face has he become across the sub-continent) has been an integral part and parcel of the Indian cricket landscape for the last two decades and more. During that time from his seat in the commentator's box, he has seen it all - the highs and the lows, triumph and tragedy, hope and despair.

And it gives him a unique bird's-eye view of the sport, and more importantly, its characters, those who give the great game of cricket flesh and blood.

In Out of the Box: Watching the Game We Love, we see another side of the genial Hyderabadi, one that has been known to readers of the Indian Express and sports websites - the Harsha of the written word. Basically a compilation of his weekly columns appearing in the Indian Express these past few years, the book is a potted history of the twists and turns it has gone through in that time.

For a commentator on the sport, these are interesting days, and no development has excited more interest - positive and negative - than Twenty20 cricket. Appropriately, the first section of the book is devoted to this explosively-popular form of the game.

Harsha's perception and early recognition of trends are captured well in the very first piece in the book titled "20-20 Vision is the Way Ahead", published way back in January 2005. Says he: "India will have to join in (the T20 revolution), though there will be debate on whether or not we need it given that cricket has no competition. But as marketing men will tell you the next rival must come from within, the flanking product must be yours. And India will have to adapt quickly because 20-20 will be the athlete's game. And athleticism hasn't always been our strong point."

The fact that India went on to not only win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Championship but also spawned the world's most lucrative domestic league of this format in the Indian Premier League speaks for itself as much as the writer's foresight.

Then, there is the Harsha who wears his heart on his sleeve. Though a most unbiased commentator on television, his love for Indian cricket lies very close to the surface and he is quick to spring to its defence. When Matthew Hayden once commentated that players from the subcontinent were selfish, Harsha riposte was, "If Australia had 500 million people, let alone a billion, they would play like a nation of 500 million, they would guard the self before aspiring to enrich the team."

And can Harsha the fan be too far away in such a setting? "Over the years, I have watched Sachin Tendulkar play cricket many times. I have marvelled at his skills, admired his work ethic and been taken aback by the unwavering dignity that has accompanied him everywhere, often in the face of some provocation. But now, (2005) more than ever, I find myself experiencing a craving for his batting." The context is otherwise, but the belief in Tendulkar the man and the batsman is evident.

All in all, Out of the Box is a mosaic, spanning some five years of Harsha's observations on the game and all that surrounds it.

The editors have thoughtfully broken it up into sections and each piece carries the date it was published on, thereby giving it vital context. For those seeking a snapshot view of the game for the last five years - and in some cases travelling back further in time - this is one to keep.