The former India cricketer's remarks behind the mic retriggered anger among fans regarding the quality of broadcasting.
Fans were left shocked and aggrieved by a poor piece of commentary during the first India-Ireland T20I played in Dublin on Sunday (June 26). The viewers couldn’t believe it when one of the commentators, Ajit Agarkar, made a horrible error in naming an Irish cricketer.
Agarkar referred to Ireland seamer Mark Adair as “Dublin”, thinking a bowler named after the city is about to deliver against the Indian batters. The error was down to pictures of the ground in Malahide being displayed on the TV screens, with commentators also following the same feed in the box before giving their inputs.
It would’ve been a slip-of-tongue on Agarkar’s part but it wasn’t. The ex-India cricketer genuinely believed someone named Dublin is about to hit the delivery stride.
As Adair ran in to bowl the second over of the innings against Indian openers Ishan Kishan and Deepak Hooda, Agarkar from the commentary box went: “Dublin into the attack”, which didn’t at all go down well with the fans.
Fans demand better commentary service after “Dublin attack” incident
What Agarkar, usually one of the better Indian commentators, did was a telling sign of the quality of the broadcasting that Indian fans are having to make do with over the years, with even some of the prominent names in the game doing absolute no research before speaking.
This attitude reeks of disrespect towards the game, the players and their after-career job.
The general consensus has always been in favour of commentators who need not have played the game before but can do justice to their pay cheques.
But the broadcasters have felt inclined towards former cricketers that often arrive for their stint without even a basic search and study of analytics.
Tired of this persistent issue, fans vent out their frustration on Ajit Agarkar and his “Dublin attack” remarks.
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Here is how many of them reacted:
The commentator legit said “Dublin into the attack” because Dublin was written on the right part of the scorecard for a moment. 😭 Kya kya karte hain ye log.
— Manya (@CSKian716) June 26, 2022
“Dublin into the attack.” Who’s this legend in the commentary box?
— Sparsh Telang (@_cricketsparsh) June 26, 2022
Ajith just said in com box that “Dublin into the attack”😭 just because in the graphics it displayed Dublin which they do everytime before start of over.
He didn’t even know that was Mark Adair. #IREvsIND— Jophin J (@j_jophin) June 26, 2022
Bowler Adair comes in to bowl the 2nd over.
Agarkar : “Dublin into the attack” (as the venue was displayed on the TV screen where bowlers name appears)
Its just pathetic and disrespectful to the players. Shouldn’t the commentator do some basic homework before coming ?
— Kishore (@kishoreofficial) June 26, 2022
T-248: Watching Ind vs Ire on SonyLiv. As Mark Adair came to bowl, commentator called “Dublin into the attack” 😂😂#INDvsIRE
— Mudit Jain, IRS (@MuditJainIRS) June 26, 2022
My man Agarkar literally said “Dublin into the attack” when they had just written the name of the location at the bottom right 😭😭
— A. (@EdinsonChavanni) June 26, 2022
Ajit agarkar just said “Dublin into the attack!” Where in the bowler was mark Adair & Dublin being the city hosting this #INDvsIRE game
Indian commentary officially at par with Indian journalism now— Hersh Lilaramani (@fplbaba) June 26, 2022
Did Ajit Agarkar literally just say “Dublin into the attack” instead of the bowlers name? Lmao.#IREvIND
— Ronald D Sampson (@rdsampson_25) June 26, 2022
A poor commentary system breeds uneducated fan culture that speaks more of the players’ stardom than the game, which hurts the fans only as the broadcasters and therefore, the administrators, continue to take them for granted.
