Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle has given us innumerable verbal gems that really prove the man’s wit and humour. The IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus can literally be called the ‘Voice of Cricket’ in India as his voice has become synonymous with the sport that is cherished by all in the country.
This eminent personality will not adorn his place in the commentary box in this season’s IPL as the BCCI terminated his contract for reasons still unknown. Netizens protested against the move and started a campaign on social media to bring their favourite commentator back to the IPL.
Harsha Bhogle enjoys a huge fan base and it is some of his words which still reverberate in every cricket lover’s mind. Here are 30 gems from the man himself
1. On a flawless Sachin Tendulkar century
When Sachin Tendulkar scored a magnificent hundred,
“Touch of class and a stamp of authority”
2. To fellow commentator Geoffrey Boycott
Commentator Geoffrey Boycott once said "Sachin may be a great batsman but he never got his name at the Lord's honour board." Harsha Bhogle responded with a witty reply,
"So whose loss is it, Sachin's or the honour boards'?"
3. On Sachin Tendulkar’s straight drive
When the maestro hit a delectable straight drive off Ishant Sharma’s bowling in the IPL,
"Open the textbook and turn to page 32."
4. On Sachin Tendulkar’s arrival to the crease
When Sachin came out to bat in a test in India,
“Eruption of joy at the fall of an Indian wicket can only mean one thing.”
5. On Sachin getting a wicket in his penultimate test match
When Sachin got Shane Shillingford LBW in during the Indian's 199th test at the Eden Gardens,
“Long before umpire Nigel Llong gave that out, 50,000 people in the crowd did.”
6. Once again on Sachin Tendulkar’s straight drive
When Sachin hit one of his trademark straight drives, Harsha uttered,
“When Sachin hits a straight drive, the world seems all the more beautiful.”
7. On Yuvraj Singh
When Yuvraj started going berserk against Australia in the World T20 semifinal in 2007,
“This is Yuvraj unleashed. Absolutely unleashed.”
8. Again a gem on Tendulkar
Analysing the dilemma of being Sachin Tendulkar, Harsha said,
“One of the problems you face being Tendulkar is that you are always compared with Tendulkar.”
9. On Sachin and Dhoni batting together
Dhoni was smacking the ball with immense power at one end and Sachin at the other hand was caressing it, Harsha had this to say about the duo,
“We have a surgeon at one end and a butcher at the other.”
10. About boundaries in T20 cricket
When Yuvraj and Robin Uthappa started hitting sixes at will against Australia in the World T20 semifinal in 2007,
“Why do we have boundaries here? The boundaries are only in our minds, not on the ground.”
11. On Chris Gayle
Harsha had terrific words for the destructive West Indies opener when he went berserk in an IPL game,
“6 and 4 seems to be the new binary code for this man.”
12. On Michael Clarke
When Michael Clarke was waiting for the umpire’s decision despite clearly edging it to the slip, Harsha commented,
“I think he is waiting for tomorrow’s newspaper to declare him out”
13. On the indefatigable Rahul Dravid
When ‘The Wall’ took guard, the bespectacled man came up with this gem,
“Is there a more calming sight in the world than Rahul Dravid taking guard?”
14. On Dravid’s splendid form
When Rahul Dravid was scoring runs aplenty, Bhogle said,
“Ask him to walk on water and he’ll ask, “How many kilometres?”
15. On Rahul Dravid’s ability
When co-commentating with Rahul Dravid in a test match in England which India were on the verge of losing, Harsha praised his co-commentator by saying,
“The only man who can save the match is the man sitting next to me.”
16. On Cheteshwar Pujara
While explaining Pujara’s excellence in the longest format of the game and how he looks completely out of place in the T20 format, Harsha came up with an apt comparison,
“Pujara is a classical musician in the era of Yo Yo Honey Singh.”
17. On Anil Kumble
When the legendary leg-spinner scored his maiden hundred in the international cricket against England in 2007, Harsha said,
“Anil Kumble has scored his 1st century. This is the most romantic moment in Indian cricket.”
18. On AB de Villiers
When the explosive AB de Villiers started his innings with a bang, Harsha like an efficient pilot stated,
“Ladies and Gentleman, fasten your seat belts. We are ready for the take-off.“
19. On Adam Gilchrist
When the legendary Australian wicketkeeper took a blinder of a catch in Perth, Harsha made a terrific comment,
“Some of the seagulls flying here are going to get a complex.”
20. On Andrew Symonds
Harsha came up with his hilarious one when Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds appealed for an LBW against Sachin Tendulkar and it was turned down,
“Symonds looks like a child whose chocolate has been taken away.”
21. On MS Dhoni
When the Indian skipper hit the Australian pacer Mitchell Starc for a boundary, Harsha aptly stated,
“He had all the time in the world. He could have read a newspaper.”
22. Sarcastic Harsha
When Harsha took a dig at the England cricket team,
“Jade Dernbach has got the perfect credentials to play for England. Born and brought up in South Africa.”
23. On Shakib Al Hasan’s slow bowling
Harsha perfectly described the talented Bangladeshi all-rounder’s slower deliveries,
“Even the shadow would go faster than the ball.”
24. On Rajat Bhatia
When Harsha Bhogle commented on the medium pacer’s extreme variations,
“Any pace bowler has three variations- fast, medium and slow. But Rajat Bhatia has- slow, slower, slowest!”
25. On Sunil Gavaskar’s commentary
When the Indian legend was praising Rahul Dravid’s batting for a considerable amount of time, Harsha tickled the funny bones with this hilarious one-liner,
“You almost got an orgasm there”
26. On Virender Sehwag
When Sehwag was having the rub of the green going in his favour in a match, Harsha quipped,
“It’s that kind of a day. Sehwag can walk blindfolded across a busy highway today and not get run over.”
27. About Glenn Maxwell’s batting
Harsha Bhogle perfectly described Maxwell’s batting style,
“He just loves to storm through. I guess if he had a car, he would probably start it in 4th gear.”
28. During the India-Pakistan World Cup game at Adelaide
Seeing the huge number of India and Pakistan fans at the ground, Harsha joked,
“Adelaide is in Australia just on the map, otherwise it is just India and Pakistan.”
29. On umpire Rudi Koertzen
When Harsha quipped about Koertzen’s smile,
“Last time Rudi Koertzen smiled, there was peace in West Asia.”
30. On his CGPA as a student
When someone asked Harsha Bhogle his CGPA during his lecture at IIM-A, Harsha Bhogle came up with this once in a lifetime quote,
“I learnt this very early in my childhood. Remember the good, forget the bad.”
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