Mumbai: Stump mic has added a dash of colour to the game of cricket. It remains a gift that keeps on giving. The many squabbles among players on the crease, the friendly banters during the match are not confined among the playing 11 anymore.
Thanks to the modern-day technology, the casual exchanges at stumps are being amplified and transmitted to our living rooms, making the game even more engaging to watch.
But not all are convinced with this piece of innovation. Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, who made a career out of the commentary box than in the crease, has criticised the overuse of stump mic.
His assessment came a day after England captain Joe Root was caught by the mic saying to West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel during the third test in St Lucia that “there’s nothing wrong with being gay”. Though Gabriel comments could not be picked up by the mic, reports said that the onfield umpires warned him for using abusive language.
A day after this controversy, Manjrekar took to Twitter to question if the stump mics are doing any benefit to the game.
After Sarfraz it’s Shannon Gabriel now who could be in trouble thanks to the stump mics. #ICC must brainstorm and decide if increased use of stump mics is actually good for the game or not.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 12, 2019
But little did he know he would be trolled by the twitterati for his assessment.
Many students are getting caught cheating in the exam . Authorities must brainstorm if increased use of invigilators is actually good for the exams or not.
— Adithya BS (@iambsa) February 12, 2019
If the bad words are being highlited due to stump mic, then it is good naa ??
— Keshav kumar (@imkeshav123) February 12, 2019
The fact, however, remains that the stump mic, whether by design or oversight, has been turned up quite high through several passages of play.
The first bit to go viral was Virat Kohli urging Murali Vijay during a game to keep batting on Day 2 of the second Test. “Shaam tak khelenge, inki g***d p**t jaayegi”. They didn’t play on till evening, saving the South Africans a lot of discomfort.
And then there was this gem from M S Dhoni, the conversation of which was picked up by the stump mic. South African bowlder Andile Phehlukwayo was at the crease and Dhoni was urging Kuldeep Yadav to pitch the ball up: “Che ball samajhne mein nikal jayega. Aage aane de aage (It’ll take him six deliveries to figure out what’s happening, keep pitching it up).”
Dhoni remained consistently hilarious, even if many of his sledges were directed at teammates. “Oye Sree, udhar girlfriend nahin hai, idhar aaja thoda (Sree, it’s not like your girlfriend is there… move this way a bit),” we heard him tell S. Sreesanth during a Test match against New Zealand. “Ball pe dhyan de, sone ka time baad mein milega (focus on the ball, you’ll get time to sleep later),” we heard him yell at Irfan Pathan during the tri-series in Australia in 2008.
(With inputs from Live Mint)
