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A lively cricket talk

Charu Sharma and Mandira Bedi will once again bring the action live from the studios in London

WINSOME TWOSOME Mandira and Charu

The Cricket World Cup is in the West Indies but Charu Sharma will take a flight to London soon. "No, I have not missed the schedule, it is just that this time our studio is set in London because of some technical issues," says the cricket analyst who will bring the game live to our living rooms on Max and Sab with Mandira Bedi.

Promising a bigger, better and more exciting coverage, Charu, a six-time national junior diving champion, who took the role of a sports presenter at the 1982 Asian Games, says this time the pre-match analysis will be of two hours.

"There would be lots of graphics and small segments to make the coverage more analytical and exciting. I believe Max has created the set of a beach in the studio." And what will Mandira do? Realising the undertones, Charu says, "She should not be taken as a jester. Her role is to bring in the female audience and cricket is not just for the pundits. At times, her queries may sound silly to the experts but those are exactly the confusions that a layperson faces. With her interludes, the game is more fun to watch. Otherwise, cold analysis makes the game a tad boring." "Charu and Mandira will be joined by Ian Chappell, Ian Bishop, Arun Lal and L. Sivaramakrishnan in the studio.

"Chappell is the best. Not only does he understand the game, he is also well versed with the medium. Short and incisive, he doesn't go on and on like many others," says Charu As for the goof-ups, he confesses there is one every day. "It is only when it registers with the audience that it goes in the records. A single minute silence becomes a blooper but Mandira and I take it like a team. If one gets retired hurt, the other takes over."

According to Charu, India's strength lies in its batting and they should stick to it. "Though the nature of wickets in the tournament is still an unknown aspect, I believe we should play both the spinners."

He feels running between the wickets and fielding could cost us the Cup. "For me age is not an issue. All the experiments with youngsters notwithstanding, for the premier tournament you need experienced players who have been through similar situations." He picks Mahendra Singh Dhoni as one player who can turn India's fortunes.

Calling aggression as the most-hyped thing these days, Charu bats for Rahul Dravid. "Cricket is a simple game. You have to bat and bowl well on a given day to win a match."

Last word: "The team with the least number of injuries will lift the Cup."

ANUJ KUMAR

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