Cricinfo - Blogs - Men in White

Ramiz Raja/ Sanjay Manjrekar/ Arun Lal any of these suits generally tend to have the following questions to sub-continent captains during presentations:
Q: It must be a good feeling to have won this match? (Is there seriously a questions here)
Rahul Dravid: Most certainly. The team was very determined to do well (yawwwwn).
Jayawardane: Its a very good win for us. We are playing to win. (oh puhleaaaaze)
Inzamam: Ki bola woh? (this he says to himself)

Q: You must be happy that Sachin/Jayasuriya/Md. Yousuf have played well? (Again, the masters of obvious)
RD: He has been a great performer for the country over the last 16 years. The team does well when he plays well. (Gosh...replace this with sun rises in the east)
Jayawardane: His performance is always critical for team's chances. (Another sun and east variety)
Inzamam: Looking utterly uncomfortable and mumbling something obvious. (I sympathize with the great man)

Why not spice up the presentation by talking in chaste Hindi or Urdu? Especially when the matches are intra-continental? Andrew Flintoff gave a great speech (according to Mark Nicholas) after winning the CB series. To be very frank with you, it was laden with so alien an accent that I had a hard time recognizing it to be english. So lets do away with any moronic competition of 'who-sounds-most-obvious' and make the presentation ceremonies meaningful.

Interesting that Chamara Silva does not answer in English. Is it that he does not understand the language at all? Not in this world, I should hope?

Let's not overdo the hype on this. Being able to socialize in an increasingly global village is more critical to the future health of the game (and the world) than the fear of stuttering your replies or speaking pidgin English.

What happens if it gets to a point where none in the team can speak good English? Do we then get the Team Manager to translate? And what if the team manager cannot either? (Not too preposterous if a Captain Haq cannot speak fluent English, is it?).

Cricket is an international game. It had better have an international language. If Chamara Silva can speak English (and pidgin English is quite fine by me, and I suspect with most followers), then let him do so.

It will be good for him and good for the cricketing world. We would like to see how he truly is as a good citizen of the world of cricket international. And if he can produce that innings (and he has done it twice now with the NZ test), he should have the confidence to take the English bull by its horns even if it be a would-be smoothie in tie and blazer, South Asian or otherwise.

I suspect that Mr. Inzamam ul Haq feels neither a stammering moron nor embarassed.

I think you are being unfair on Rameez Raja. I distinctly remember him interviewing more than one Pakistani player in Urdu and translating it for the spectators and TV audience. I can't recall the names of the interviewees themselves, but Inzamam may have been one of them.

I really don't see the issue with addressing the media in your local tongue. Look at football for instance. You get myraid of languages, accents and whatnot being used in addressing the media both in home and abroad. The trick is to employ a team media person whose fluency of both English and the local language(s) of his team, is impeccable.

Well said Mr Kesavan. I am a Sri Lankan and I have watched many cricketers struggle when being interviewed at the presentation ceremonies. If a player can not experess himself in english he should not hesitate to use his own language. At the same time it must be mentioned that as people who have to travel a lot to different counteies it will be helpful for the cricketers to learn the usage of english.

This is not the first moment where a translator was used when interviewing a player during the post match ceremony. I can clearly remember having scored his hundred in just 37 balls, which is still the fasted hundred in ODIs, Shahid Afridi spoke in Urdu & it was translated by the then team manager Mushtaq Mohammad. That happened in 1996 at Nairobi, Kenya. This even may not be the first of such cases, but the first I can remember. Yea, this happend to Saqlain as well.

Finally! This is a really heartening occurence. At least now we will not have to be put up with grammatical mistakes and such..

While I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Kesavan, I find it ironic that he should be making these points. After all, the principal reason why someone like Mr. Kesavan gets a chance to expound his theories in this forum (and then gets them carried by the Calcutta Telegraph) is that he writes in English. He has never played cricket at a 1st class level and is not recognized as someone with nous about the game. But he is a pedagogue who is keen on cricket and writes decent English. Going by the same standards, Cricinfo should have far greater coverage of translated articles from Indian language newspapers. The analysis, to pick on Bengali newspapers, on AnandaBazarPatrika or even Aajkaal (with a pro-Sourav basis), is mostly better than what Mr. Kesavan provides. But you would hardly see that in Cricinfo.

In Miss World or Miss Universe contest, I have never seen contestant frm Venezula, Spain or other Latin American countries answering in English. They take pride in their language and culture. At the same time, I believe, Cricket is just not about playing on field, players specially captains are ambassador of the countries, hence Boards should first provide them personality development skills during off season and managers should ensure that the players dont become a laughable stock because of poor English in front of whole world.

A rising non-english speaking cricketer should try be a good cricketer first then if necessary he can speak english later.If he tries to practice english rather than cricket, he'll become a bad commentator.

I wholeheartedly agree with this observation on language. Chamara spoke in the language he is most comfortable with, as he should. Arun lal, on the other hand, deserves a kick up his backside. He asked exactly one question of Chamara, and upon finding the response being translated into English promptly said "Thank You" and ended the interview. When was the last time the man-of-the-match was asked just one question? Probably Arun Lal's catholic school sensibilities were offended by someone who could'nt speak the Queens' language.
Arun lal is a typical example of someone still in awe of all things English, which was aptly reflected in his "propah" batting style. Thankfuly we did not have to endure his boring batting for too long, but are now stuck with listening to his boring, monotone banalities from the commentary box - sometimes when he speaks it sounds like an echo as he has the irritating habit of repeating his fellow commentators words.
I admit the lack of an original thought should not be an obstacle in his path - many others in various fields have been down that road before with great success.
This is not meant to be a hate piece - I have nothing against Arun Lal per se, its just that sometimes he can be rather tiresome, and as the recent incident on the podium suggests, rather classist and obtuse!!

TRUE! players are not there for their English of course...they are there because of performance! On the other hand like Mr.Kesavan mentioned majority of Cricketing world is not from English speaking backgrounds. The main aim of having a quick chat at the presentations I suppose, to get some idea of what experiences that he might have gathered during that particular game. Once the interviewer shoots English at the interviewee and he is unable to answer, the whole meaning of the presentation looks stupid! So in my opinion language surely shouldn't be an issue here! and I think having it the other way around also not a bad idea... where as.. if both Interviewer & player speaks English, this should be translated to players native language which makes lot of sense because, not all fans understand English as well !!

Excellent article and I hope our respective Managers and Captains will take note of this. They who know well the ability of a player to converse in English. They can always call upon a fellow player to assist in interpreting. Chamara Silva did the correct thing and didn't look a fool in front of a million viewers. I earnest hope others will follow suit.
Cheers,
Roshan

Again.. good point raised by Mr. Kesavan.. hats off to you for another thought provoking blog. Same story.. dogs barking against a good thought. In my opinion, which is the same as few others, it is the commentator who is responsible for this kind of embarassment.. But saying this I would appreciate Arun Lal in this regard.. He did not pester the Man of the Match Mr. Silva.. I think may be Mr. Lal realized the fact that Mr. Silva has hard time understanding english which I think is the best thing done for this situation.. Anyways.. this discussion is a never-ending one and the only solution accoding to me is to cutshort interviewing time for non-english speaking match performers.

And you express all this in english??!!

i agree 100%, this is the best blog you have come up with. it is just so simple and its just commonsense.

im aussie and it is good to be able to hear someone like dravid be interviewed in english but if the player isnt fluent enough i would much rather someone translate. many players have probably got something very intelligent to say but they cant explain it elequontly in english.

i hope the aussie players speak with proper english for you guys and not in local slang, because i find some of poms and windies can very difficult to understand.

Good points, but the fact remains that most of the Indian players who were not fluent in English earlier have picked up quite well by now (possibly because of foreign coaches.)Anyone who has watched cricket over the past 5 years or so will have observed this. Maybe the need to speak English was not so acute in the neighbouring countries (although they also have foreign coaches).

Mukul, well said and done! You don't need English to play good cricket or to be a fantastic cricketer. Most of the sub-continent players should have done what Silva did a long time ago. After all you should be proud of talking your mother language at any given time! Mind you in Spain, Japan or in that case Germany their own language comes first! Most of the other countries also follow the same way.

This Englishman agrees. I'd rather hear Inzi (or any one else who struggles with English) say what he wants and speak with ease and comfort - whether I can understand it or not (although my Hindi/Urdu isn't bad, I must say). Having said that, I think that having an 'international' language of cricket is good as so many people are interested in more than just what they're local players have to say. English has obviously taken that position, so an interpreter would be useful - but if one is not available, it shouldn't stop the player from speaking in the language they're most comfortable with, be it Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Sinhala, Tamil, Gujurati, Malayalam, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Lancastrian-accented English, or whatever...

I couldn't agree more. I still remember when Pakistan had Wasim Akram go up and translate what the great spinner Saqlain Mushtaq had to say during his man of the match interview. Every now and then a friend sends me a video link of Inzi. It is either something comical on the field which Inzy does or the post match ceremony interview. Even though English is my first language, I can still relate with anyone that wants to express tehi feeling in their native language. Be it a South Asian or an African, each cricketer should have an interpreter up there with them expressing how they truly feel. Cricket is about your skills on the field and not of your ability to speak a language. After all, cricket needs no single language to be enjoyed by us.

The purpose of interviewing a player at the presentation ceremony is to provide an opportunity for the player to describe the game from his perspective. Why not then provide him the chance to describe this as eloquently as he can, in his native language?

Well, here's why; who is he describing his experience to? The most important aspect for the broadcasting agency is the intended audience. If a player speaks in his native language, and it is different from the language the general audience is accustomed to, the main issue that comes to the fore is real-time translation and presentation. In football, this is usually solved by having a commentator who is fluent in both languages, translating on the go. The interviewer must also be someone who is fluent in both languages or at least in the language that his subject is fluent in. To this effect, Arun Lal should not be blamed. Also having a teammate translate is not the ideal solution.

Ultimately, this does (or rather should) not reflect poorly on the cricketer, as much as it should relfect poorly on the broadcaster. Perhaps the broadcaster's analysis has shown that it is more probable and profitable to have an interviewer in english and to ignore translation, perhaps it is policy, but at least in my view this is poor policy. A significant fraction of your audience will be frustrated by this.

Cricketers should without-a-doubt speak in the language they are most comfortable with. This would not only make it fair on them (as you do see people laughing at the ones that cannot speak great english), but also it would make the interviews more interesting if the interviewee actually knew what he was being asked. Someone commented that in todays world everyone knows a bit of english.. but that isnt true at all. I used to live in areas of Sri Lanka where nobody at all could speak more than 10 words of english.

I remember during one of the MOM presentations, when Ian Chappell requested the Pakistan Player (Imran Nazir) who was the MOM on that day, to say a few words, he (Imran Nazir) was seen rushing off, unable to speak English. However, I have watched the Pakistan Opener, Salman Butt speak very fluently. Its all about the ability of the individuals, but it would be nice if the Presenter concerned knows in advance whether the person to be interviewed is good enough to communicate in English, so that it would make things much more pleasant to all concerned.

Had this blog been around a couple of decades ago, then we would have been spared the sight of Kapil Dev trying his hand at English. I wish someone would translate to us what some of the AUssie cricketers say as well. And yeah, Navjot Sidhu.

Well, I was always of the opinion that we needed a translator or subtitles whenever Geoff Boycott came on air.

pb's comment above is correct. Several cricketers have used translators before, and used them well. Now if only the interviewers would ask more intelligent questions.
Some years ago the great Sanath Jayasuriya in response to a question about the rampant Australian fast bowlers said "I do not fear them. What terrifies me is the sight of Ian Chappell strolling up with a microphone in his hand".
He said this in Sinhala of course.

Yes, Mr. Mukul, this was a very good article. This was what I was saying about being able to stand up and keep up the traditions of our motherland, no matter which country u r from! People should understand that being able to speak in your own language is not being dumb, but being a stern supporter and inheritor of one's values and traditions. We should be proud of what we are and where we are from, our heritage and our customs. We tend to look upto the world rulers namely U.S.A, U.K and others. Why? Because we are scared we may be left behind. No!! That's wrong. But having said this, i should say that we shouldn't look crippled in anyway because of not knowing their customs and ways of living, without knowing of which we wouldn't be able to upstage them in their own game! isn't it?
Anyway i am happy that Mr. Mukul has been wise enough to come back on the "Man to Man"theory , rather than crying like a baby in your article
"Dean Jone's Redux" about the racial discrimination that's done.

Yes, Mukul, but why do you have to be use strong words to describe the "suits" as you describe them? That in my mind takes away the sheen from your otherwise valid comments.

As there is nothing wrong communicating in a non-english language, there is nothing wrong in communicating in English.

I don't think anyone has stopped any player from communicating in his language of choice.

guys,
there is nothing we have to talk about, we have our own language and we don't have to be afraid to use it. nothing wrong with that.

I think your blog, makes a point, Mukul. I would love to hear Dhoni, Sehwag, and Pathan speak in chaste Hindi or Urdu, at an awards ceremony.

Where did this obsession with sportspeople being speakers come from? Cricketers should be good and cricket first and foremost - I for one don't care if they can only speak Martian ... if I want to hear a polished speaker i'll go to a speech, if I want to watch quality cricket i'll go to a cricket match! And anyway, South African's can hardly be accused of speaking English! I can hardly understand a word they say, as the only vowel they use is 'e' (what the hell colour is 'bleck'?). So take heart Asian nations, it doesn't matter if you can't speak English as long as you can make the bat or ball talk! And even poorly spoken English will be a million times better than my Urdu/ Hindi/ Tamil or any other language! So be proud of your abilities, and don't let anything else get in your way.

This is in reply to Johanne's post above, which is a typical Anglo-supremacist response to the issue. While I agree that cricketing ambassadors like (now) Inzy and (then) Kapil should learn English as they'll be "the face" of their country for quite a while, especially overseas, I see no need for a normal member of the team to learn English. Over 80% of the cricketing revenue is generated in India and Pakistan. Isn't it time the English and Aussies started learning Hindi/Urdu? The fact that I'm writing this reply in English shows how deep rooted our Anglo-sycophancy is. It's time we got rid of this and started presentation ceremonies at home at least concurrently in regional languages.

I completely concur with the author. I am the sure that the players feel the same. I remember one incident where Afridi wanted to do the interview in urdu, however ramiz raja would not allow this to happen. The fans would rather an articulate response which can be easily translated. The fans also have some sympathy with the players who have limited English. As it is quite simple to see how incredibly nervous they are when they being interviewed.

Lets hope this encourages players to speak in urdu, hindi, gujurati, pushto, sinhalese, tamil, punjabi etc.

Agree with Mukul. Harbhajan and Sehwag and a couple of Pakistani players used to reply in Hindi/Urdu. But I think that not speaking in English makes them unattractive to sponsors; so they are tutored as soon as they hit the big league. Also, this connects to Mukul's first post on Football's popularity in his son's crowd. Cricket is a mass game now and we will have more non-english speakers than before. I would like to take the cricket-movie analogy further. We like cricket because it is like a good movie - visual beauty, action, some suspense (will he take the catch, will it go for six) and some fodder for thought. Would like Mukul to explore this in a post!

It seems that now cricketers not only learn playing cricket, but also go for english lessons.

Great Point Mukul. Why not press for the sponsors to get an interpreter ready in such cases where the caprtain or the man of the match is going to speak in his mother tongue? Why load that onto the captain?

In Football internationals players do speak their mother tounge and not German or Portugese(Brasil).
It is an advantage to speak more languages still if one is not easy with English etc he/she should express in mother tounge. That is not a big fuss except in South Asia where a person who can't talk English is somewhat pushed behind. A gift of British Raj.

Good point Mukul.No one need to think that he is inferior if doesn't know English.Look at China how they are prospering in all walks of life.They are proud of their language.English is global languge to communicate but no one should be forced to speak english.Let it be an example for other non-english speaking players & follow the path of Silva.When we speak in our language our expressions will more pwerful

Mr. Sameer ...How can players suffer with a translator whether its Paul allot or who ever ?
come on Sameer don't just write for the sake of writing...

The true pioneer in this regard, was the intrepid Indian commentator who interviewed the captain of the German hockey team - after the 1982 World Cup Final - in German! He then provided the translations (I don't remember if he did it himself or if someone else did it). He then interviewed Akthar Rasool, the captain of the Pakistani team, who began with the usual "Yeh sab Allah-tala ki meherbani hai..."

You made my day Mukul. It's very refreshing to see a great article like your's. I dearly want to congratulate Chamara Silva not only for his brilliant century but also for his very bold and courages stand facing up to the post match presentation. Chamara, you have put the mother language above all which I'm so proud of and you did not make a mockery of a language which we are not comfortable with. Rameez & Inzamam, you buddies please take a leaf out of Chamara.

IT is painful to watch Inzi speaking in English.
I don't understand, why these guys are so against it either getting the translator or speaking in their native language. I watch many local and internation sports, and in almost all cases non native use the language which they feel comfortable with. prehaps talking in English is a "STAUS SYMBOL" for sub-continent people.
Mate no one gives a hoot what language you speak. as long as you speak one.
even monkey language will be cool. as long as someone can translate.

Umer
wash dc

A valid point here..good that you brought it out!
the presentation ceremonies are farcical to the core. And someone rightly pointed out how mundane the queries and responses are.
{We mimic tendulkar everytime he goes on to collect his MOM award..ball was coming on to the bat etc etc LOL}

Well said. It was pretty pathetic of Arun Lal to have stopped with just one question and, quite brave of Chamara Silva to come and answer questions when he is clearly not comfortable with the "universal" language. I distinctly remember some other MoM's refusing to answer a few q's .. because they weren't comfortable with english.
With most of the asian stars coming from backgrounds that do not necessiate a knowledge of english, it is imperative to make them feel comfortable...in all respects. After all, don't we have trouble understanding an Aussie or English accent? Does that mean the presenter stops with one q?
Having said that, with foreign coaches being the norm , "foreign" - meaning Australia/England predominantly. . . .what will be the medium of communication between the coach and the player who is not comfortable speaking in English?

Mukul, you are great man,this is better than the century scored by Chamara.
You portray guys like Mahatma Gandhi, they too would have felt the same when they started their campaign. Thanks buddy.
Tony Azeez
Whittier
California

Absolutely! I have been griping about this for a long time myself.The Bangladeshi cricket team is represented by men from different socio-economic backgrounds. We have wonderful personalities in our team, some with quirky idiosyncrasies others with quick witted humor. It is truly painful to watch these men reduced to bumbling idiots and regurgitating memorized two word responses. If we prize diversity, we should flaunt it, instead of conforming to 'only english.' The game would be better for it!

Great Article Mukul.

I m myself quilty of laughing at inzi during post-match ceremony. But i have thought about it and itz ABSOLOUTELY wrong to laugh at a person becoz of his/her language barrier. Cricketers aernt supposed to know 1 word of english. There sole purpose is to bowl, bat, field well, with the best of their abilities. I think all the players should talk in the language they are most comfortable in. Like someone pointed out earlier. We should have two presenters 1 being local and 1 from visiting country.

Bingo! Mukul.. It was really a long time coming.. Hats off to you to bring this into light..
Not only they look like complete moron they seemed awefully short of breath at the post match presentation( Yes Most Notebly Inzi with his same old Tape "Yes the boyz ..bla and bla)..One thing that I never find an answer about those Team mates turn Commentators ..after shareing the dressing room for all these years still go on and brag about their English Speaking Xcellency

This is especially true for Shoaib Akhtar. I saw him at a post match conference during the 99 world cup, and he couldn't speak english, and came across as a dimwit fastbowler.
But then I saw him speak in Urdu on a pakistani channel, and realised he is very eloquent, his true personality came out there.

I personally find it entertaining when people who dont speak the English language try and not only understand the english question but then try and respond to it. I don't laugh at these cricketers through malice but I admit that an Indian, Lankan or Pakistani trying to speak broken english in their desi accent is hillarious. Relax Mukul, its all part of the game and this is something that adds to the entertainment value. The world has many bigger fish to fry dont you think?

Hi Man,
Mr. Silva made a fantastic 100 runs.RESPECT!!! Grate and fabulous. India is one of the poorest countries in the world. Better to speak Sinhalese than Indian English, because nobody can understand. India did forget the colonialism and they always memorise it.

I think all the fuss about chamara silva not speking english and comparing him to other players of india and pakistan is absurd.This is a genuine sri lankan who studied in sinhalese at school and never conversed in english at home or with friends and thats the reason that he is not able to talk in english.There are many crickerters who can speak good english and doesnt want to do so at the ceromonies because they hate some cultures and people of certain countries.If chamara silva was able to speak english I know he would have done it with a lot of pride.Viava sri lanka.
after all we are playing a game that we didn't invent.

Yeah... we shouldn't HAVE to speak in English. It should be the individual's choice. If he believes he can express himself better in another language, and believes his interpreter can translate it properly, that's the way it should be.

Quite true sir, all cricketers and people regardless of the venue of appearance, unless mandated by the event should speak in their Amma zabbaan, or for the benefit of my Indian brethren Amma jeep.

Having said that, Inzi Bhai(MBBS) has been afforded just such an opportunity by no less than Ramiz Raja and instead Inzi again decided to put his paw in his mouth and persisted with a language that experts are still busy deciphering.

If English, French or Saraikee (a local Pakistani language, an offshoot of Punjabi and Sindhi, go figure, however, Saraikee has produced one of the best and mind you untrained folk singer of Pakistan, if you have not heard Pathana Khan and you happen to like folk music, I urge you to give a listen) is not the Amma Zabaan than the individual has the right and should insist on speaking in the language of choice.

Now a quick note to Prasad, dude Shaoib Akhtar speaks pretty reasonable English, kid you not, however, to call him eloquent, I would not go that far. Shoaib, may be known for a variety of things but, eloquence No, speed Yes. ouch! AMF!

Cricket is a world game so why does it have to be hamstrung by the english language. It wouldn't take too much organisation for the cricketing authorities to have a translator at the ground for player interviews and award presentations. You could probably find a zillion peolpe willing to do it for free so you can't blame "cost" as a reason not to do it. To take it a small step further you could also make it a requirement of issuing TV rights that players can speak in their native tongues and subtitles be included on the screen.
It's fair enough that Inzamam-ul-Haq may need an english translator but his english is probably far more understandable than Andrew Symonds who, even though he is apparently already speaking english, needs a english translator more than any other player.
He's agreat player but he's still a Queenslander - which are an entirly different life-form to the rest of us humans.

Great to see someone's character come through on such a grand scale. Most often people choose to stumble thier way through the interview in English, simply because thats been the norm. Its nice to see someone assert himself thus. On the flip side, I hope the young man is also trying to learn a new language, that will further his cause in the future.

Kudos on the observation though - one more reason, why we need commentaries from people with diverse backgrounds and professions. Mere cricketing technicalities reduce this game to just a sport...

Hi dont agree with you Mr Kesavan. Why have you written this article in english when most of the supporters of the game are not english speaking.English is more than a language. It is a method by which people can mix oher cultures.I see no wrong is asking some people questions in english since the interview is going out to the whole world.The players should be civilized enough to speak at least a little bit of english.

This is in reply to Anjan’s response to my previous post.

Firstly, the point I was making in my post is that it is important in an increasingly globalized world, to be able to communicate in an international language. Lack of communication makes for many a misunderstanding. And there are too many of them already. English makes for better socialization in an international community. This surely is obvious.

The second point I intended to make was that people like Chamara Silva should be able to work up the confidence to express themselves in English since they are already making their mark on the international stage. My point (when you read the message intended in my post by reading it in its entirety) was that if Inzamam–ul–Haq would have the confidence to speak in his pidgin English (or whatever it is) without recourse to translators and translations, this surely is a mark of his confidence and sense of self–worth and esteem. Why is it that we are feeling embarrassed over it? There’s the nub of the issue, is it not? ... the way I am seeing it, at least. I am sure Inzy would not continue to do so if he had a problem with it.

The third point I was hoping to convey without explicit statement is, what is the point in playing cricket with other countries if you hesitate to communicate with members or representatives of other nations in a language they and the rest of the world’s cricketing community understands? Have we become so insular as to think that we need to be understood only by our own partisan national/ethnic community? I should hope not.

The overarching point above all of this I was making was that Mukul Kesavan’s blog was overreaching in its praise of the pioneering Sri Lankans (if they were pioneering at all, that is). I simply said “let’s not overdo this”.

“Let’s not overdo this” because it can become “fashionable” to speak in one’s own mother tongue and then expect to get translated. “Let’s not overdo this” because it is more important I think to be able to hear and understand an international cricketer at first hand... and not via somebody’s translation. A translation is a literal thing... unless one is a professional translator... and even then it is not as effective as the complete first hand communication with all of the body language supporting or contradicting the words spoken, as it is spoken.

The trouble with many of the posts in this blog (from my point of view), is that the contributors in their enthusiasm to uphold their social values/tradition/language/biases etc., however laudable such intention might be, overlook the fact that we are living in different times where English is not the language of our colonial masters but simply put, is an international language critical for building bridges of understanding between warring nations, races, and communities... and make no mistake that cricket or any other sport in today’s world is sublimated war. No less. How much longer can it remain "sublime" without a common medium of communication. It would undoubtedly be great if the Aussies, the Pommies, the Kiwis, not forgetting the Windies, Kenyans, Zimbabweans, the Saffers would all learn Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sinhala, Tamil, and what else have you a la Brett (Bollywood) Lee, but we need surely to get realistic.

I am saddened to note that Anjan seems to make a distinction between "cricketing ambassadors" like Kapil and Inzy, and "normal members" (presumably a reference to people like Chamara Silva?), for the apparent purpose of asserting that there is no need for "normal" members to learn English. While my post certainly does not imply this at all (in fact, quite to the contrary, if at all), what Anjan would appear to intend by this statement (if that is how it is intended) is terribly ironic in many more ways than one.

If my post betrays an "Anglo–supremacist" bias, would it be far wrong for me to infer that Anjan’s post might reflect an insular nationalistic and even class–oriented view of the world we currently live in wherein those of us who have acquired the competence of the written and spoken international idiom become unwitting apologists for our competences in the presence of our less–accomplished brethren. In the process, are people like Anjan (and I might even suggest, Mukul Kesavan himself) aware that they are involved in unwittingly putting people like Chamara Silva down? Isn’t Anjan's post reflective of all of this? And is this not a malaise that has become endemic in our part of the world to the exclusion of the Windies, the African countries, and others who do not appear to be all that gung–ho about ethnicity, language? Why?

The only merit I see to all or most of the posts in response to this blog is that the south Asian countries have a large following of people who perhaps are not very competent with the international idiom. (I am sure most understand it even if a little only, although they don’t speak it or wish to speak it in public). If so, the solution is not to become more insular. Rather, to become more expansive in outlook and approach. Creating a distinction between an "ambassador" class and a "normal" class, however temporary it might seem to be, could well be counter–productive.

While I accept it is good to have common language like "English" as an international language, it should be regarded as a mode to show the class of the player. There was an era that only English speaking people played Cricket in Sri Lanka. Later public schools gave the backing to non-English speaking students to play cricket based purely on skill. This was how players like Jayasuriya came into seen. I know that some players hid to avoid Tony Greig's call for an interview. Also I remember how Arjuna Ranatunga talked in Sinhala at Press Conference in Australia when he was hounded by the Press on clash with umpire on the field to defend Murali.

Let players to talk whatever language they are comfortable with. What really matters is how they perform on the field. Bat and ball will talk for them and the opponents will understand that mode of language without any doubt.

I am glad that Mukhul opened up a very interesting topic and thank Sourahb for mentioning an even more important point where Arun Lal cut off the interview with a single question and rightly deserves a kick-in-the backside! Having read through over 60 responses I would like to share my view with you.

There are merits and de-merits in the issue being discussed. While it is most appreciable that Chamara was brave enough to opt for Sinhala, if one does go down memory lane - we will all remember how much Sanath struggled with English in his early days and how much he has improved from then on. I am glad that "cricket" has made Sanath that much better in tackling English as well.

This does not by any means diminish my regard for Sinhalese or cultural diversity. It is these different cultures and their diversity that makes this world such an interesting place - or is it?

Are'nt each of us part of the same family? Are'nt each of us an ingredient in a agreat cross-cultural mix? Are'nt each of an essential atom in a living breathing and changing organism?

Therefore? does it really matter in which language one expresses himself or herslef?

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

chamara s must be given a boquet for what he did,but the problem is as to why MJ took 100 words to translate what cs said in 10

Welldone Chamara bor bieng brave enough in-field as well as out field. "Nodanna Ingirisiyata gihilla warige naha ganne nethuwa"..And I am glad these many people came to know about a language as "sinhala" because of your action. But dont forget to learn English because that would help you with your future as an international player...

Good topic choice for a change!

Would come as a great relief for Inzi & Co.

While Sanath Jaysuria may have improved immensely in his grasp of the language over the years, Inzi has ever struggled and makes a mess of it all.

From now on, he would be well advised to resort to Urdu and that would serve his supporters well.

It's unfortunate that players like Inzi have failed to grasp a basic command even after a decade of exposure at the international level.

This is one area PCB should look into and lend a helping hand to the upcoming talent as they make their way to the playing eleven on a regular basis.

Until these players overcome the language barrier (spoken at least), they should preferably communicate in their national language. At least they can then, express themselves freely and communicate their thoughts.

Some of you out there may be thinking that Inzi would still struggle with his passive and expressionless -------.

Lately though, his attention has been away from the playing field and focused more on behind the scene maneuvers such as trying to dish out favors to some close associates as if he is ready to make his grand exit from this gentlemanly game of cricket in some style.

That is bound to happen if he continues to stoke trouble.

My point is that we must do away with these post match presentation interviews altogether, if we cannot rise above 10 minutes of constant cliche. I dont think there has been one presentation with anything interesting said by either the presenters or the recipients of the award. Looking forward to when the awards are handed out and the presenter just congratulates/commiserates and moves on if he has nothing original to say. There are enough commentators out there who feel the urge to talk without any substance whatsoever.
Personally, Im beginning to prefer the mute button to the tirade of truisms.
Looking forward to when a channel has the sense to limit the word count of every 'expert', beyond which they are penalized!

Dear bro Chamara Silva,

I watched that match. 107 runs in 107 balls. Fantastic brother. Only uneducated people think about your English. Your were there to play cricket not show your English knowledge. You will be one of the greatest cricketers in the world pretty soon. Carry on brother. People they criticize you did not forget the colonialism, they still memorise the British Empire. I am Swiss Italian but we still love cricket not the English language.

I think the only people who should be blamed here are TV producers.For example in this case they had both Ranjith Fernando and Ranil Abenayake from Sri Lanka in their panel who could have easily interviewed Chamara Silva and given a better translation.So I think the producers should be more proactive

The last comment from Bharat makes good sense! Post-match presentation ceremonies should be made crisp and only about handing trophies and cheering the winners. You can see the crowd is restless when the presenter and the cricketer involved indulge in a chat that both of them clearly don't think adds value.

We can instead have a televised post-match press conference like in Wimbledon or F1 where enough time can be taken to arrange for translators. Nadal speaks in Spanish for example and there is no insular mentality about that as Johanne refers to the phenomenon of wanting to speak in the language of comfort.

If the Chinese do storm the sport (like the over-optimistic Cricinfo reports now and then suggests), they will surely speak only in Chinese with an official translator probably.

The game of cricket should not be looking to English as a rallying point for its member countries - just bloody good game-play and passion for the sport.

To Posted by: Gi. Amendra 12 hours, 18 minutes ago

Dude, post it in Sinhala or Italian or Swiss or whichever language you understand better. We can use some translation tools.

What C Silva did was nothing but extending the confidence displayed in the field to his life. It shows that the person does not need the crutches of a foreign language to prove a point.

Also, I agree that the precious thoughts of the players are worth nothing. After watching a match winning performance the last thing one looks forward to is Tendulkar type analysis.

It's a welcome change from what they did in India a year back. At a presser in Ahmedabad, Mike Tissera 'translated' for Tharanga and Malinga. It was the weirdest moment - Tissera took the question in English and without bothering to change accent repeated it to The two, slowly and softly, and waited for the response. Which came in English for most part! Till Tharanga went back to Sinhala.

I'm all for using native language as long as it is translated to english. But I strictly object to people who suggest that they should use urdu/hindi... as main medium to sub-continental matches, we have enough indian influence in the game already. anymore, you'll make everyone else feel alienated and drive them out of the game.

I think Jayawardena was generously adding his own words when translating Silva during the presentation ceremony. Thats how it seemed to me, Jaya's comments seemed much longer than Silva's.

Well done Chamara! You have set the trend and hope others will follow without butchering the Queen's language. Cricket is a language of its own and the English Language has no monopoly over it. The sub continent is the emerging power of cricket and they have a right to use their own language in all interviews. Hope those who announce and interview the cricketers realise this. Keep it up Chamara.

Your point is well taken: the organisers should do everything to make the player speak in the language he is most comfortable in. This is a good issue you have raised.

But I am afraid that you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater! I quite agree with Mr.Thakur and I do feel that the "activist" in you has prompted you to be a bit harsh on the men with the suits who do speak English.

I don't seem to undertand why the ability or indeed the inability to speak English has to prompt such a big debate on Nationalist- Patriotic lines. Arre Baba if he is comfortable to speak in Sinhala so be it we should admire and respect it at the same time if somebody wears a suit and speaks in English what's wrong with that? Why does he have to become any less patriotic and a psuedo?

I have seen people saying that they understand how uncomfortable Gandhiji must have felt. Do thay know that he was fluent in both written and spoken English and probably wore more suits than anyone because he practiced in South Africa?

And what's all this rubbish about China? We don't mind all the billions of Dollars that come in to India via the BPO route just because of our ablity to speak such good English. We don't mind the Ratan Tata's, Aditya Birla's expounding their theories and opinions in English and wear suits but the moment a Ravi Shastri or Rameez Raja does it he becomes a pseudo! What nonsense!

Let's grow up people and be more mature - get rid of this narrow minded, parochial and hypocritical attitude and that includes you too Mukul!

Or else the next time a Salman Khan takes off his shirt and wears jeans ot Bipashal Basu sports a sexy western skirt or they speak in English all of us should leave the hall and object!

Nirbhay Singh

To-posted by: VIKAS 2 hours 16, minuts ago

Hi Mann,

I am at school buddy, I shall come back. Try to memorise Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima,..Do they speck English? I will let you know in colonial English.

I really dont see any issue of Chamara Silva speaking in Sinhalese and why the cricket players have to learn English. The world famous football players talk in their own language and why cannot Silva.

I have never seen Presidents of France,Germany,Russia speaking in ENGLISH.......

It is funny, how some people take a miniscule issue and start political and social rampage.
Johanne speach sounds like my beloved leader(BIG W lol )addressing at UN.
Cricketers are no ambassadors. they can't even spell ambassador, except my boy INZI he sure can!

Umer
wash dc

To Mr. Sameer,
You claim that all International Cricketers should learn to speak English. Yet you find it incomprehensible for Paul Allott or god forbid Ian Botham to learn or converse in Hindi. Do you see a problem with your argument?
Yes Mr. Mukul, I agree with you in that everybody should speak in a language they are comfortable. Take a look at the UN, not a lot gets done there but at least people are comfortable there, I think ;)

Couldn't agree more!
It's good to see that Chamara had the courage to go there and speak in Sinhala!!

This is in response to the boasts of Pakistanis about the greatness of their fast bowlers. Let's check:

1) Shoaib Akhtar indeed chucks at 155 kmph. Granted he is the fastest chucker of them all, when he is fit (1% of the time). But what's his speed without the dope?

2) Mohammad Asif speed: 125 kmph give or take a few. I wonder what his speed will be without
the supplements (a politically correct term for
you know what)

3) Mohammad Sami is the only fair fast bowler they have who bowls around 145 kmph. But to what avail?
His bowling average is like Dravid's batting average (58?)

4) Shahid Nazir: Again 125 kmph.

5) Umer Gul, when is back is not broken, he can
reach 140 kmph once in a while. But mostly bowls
around 130 kmph.

5) There was this boast from Pakistanis that all their domestic players bowl at faster than 140 kmph? But, how come they are not playing for the
national time? Why are they being kept in the hiding?

Of course all the Pakistani bowlers bowl faster than Kumble so I guess they are fast. Smile, wink,
ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, hey, hey, hey, LOL
3)

I have read plenty of comments on how we are have this blog in english. This is quiet a norm. Most of the schooling in the sub-continent is done in English. I know for a fact that people from the sub-continent are far more fluent at written english than at oral english. Also, interview at a presentation adds the aspect of public speaking which as Jerry Sienfeld would point out is more feared than death .. lol.. . . Translators sounds like a wonderful idea . .. I rather hear how one feels .. .the guy just played great cricket .. . make him feel comfortable. . . and maybe these post game interviews need not be so politically correct at all times. .

My fav was the final at bombay when Ravi Shashtri asks Ricky Ponting how his team was short of 20 odd runs and Ponting says "I thought we won, didn't we" ... . wont we all love some wit from the english challenged players too instead of sun rises in the east responses ... something like Roddick in post game interview where he says "I sucked, I played like *** " and his counterpart the great Federer laughs off saying something like "I did play my best tenis"

RAJESH U MAKE ME LAUGH MATE HOW CAN U CUSS PAK PACE BOWLERS WEN U DONT HAV 1 LOL

first of all, Rajesh: people in glass houses should not be throwing stones. I am not a Pakistani but a Sri lankan but your accusations of Pakistani fast bowlers is laughable at the least and hypocratic at the worst.

1) Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid (India's three greatest batsmen ever) were caught red-handed using bats wider than the legal limits allowed by none other Clive Lloyd during the 2003 World Cup. All of India should be ashamed of this but it was never highlighted as a big scandal because Indian media controls Cricketing Media. On the other hand, any time a Pakistani or Sri Lankan bowler is "suspected" of an illegal action, all of India (including its past legends such as Bedi) start writing articles. Let us not forget that even Harbajan Singh was called for chucking and he is currently your only in-form spinner for the World Cup. I also think that Sreesanth has a kink in his action. I don't think he would be seen as "chucking" for most Indians and I don't think so either. But if you view his slow motions with the same bias goggles that you wear when you watch Shoaib or Murali, you will agree that Sreesanth chucks as well for some of his deliveries. So, lets be a little bit more grown up and let the umpires and officials accuse and reprieve the actual culprits of illegal actions and illegal bats! Neither you nor I are qualified to accuse or defend these players. Let us appreciate talent for what it is, not for whom they belong to or where they come from. That is cricket!

Personal request;
I will file petition for westners to take their silly language back, in return can you guys export little heat wave out this way. we are freezing our ass off out here..

Umer
wash dc

The point is good, and everyone has right to speak in a language he is comfortable with. When Atalji had spoken in Hindi at UN he was applauded.
But then one of his comments later made me think a lot on the language issuse...that went like "I can be applauded for speaking in Hindi in UN assembly, but back in India I have to speak in English".

Would anyone of us like Saurav speaking in Bengali, Karthick in Tamil or Sachin in Marathi??

Silva can very well speak in Sihala, Inzy can manage with urdu, but unfortunately (or fortunately) Bhajji or Munaf have to learn english!!!!!!

As I know, in India there are corruption, bribery, prostitution, cast problems.... If somebody is unable to speck English, let them speck their native language. Most probably Indians will introduces a new rule, only players with English language can play cricket. Man, try your best to get out of third world mentality and respect the cricket players without criticizing them because of their language.
Vai al diavolo amigo.

LUCIA FORNONI - SWITZERLAND

Well done Chamara.Even though Cricket is an international game,players should not feel uncomfortable to express themselves in their mother tounge if they are not fluent in English.Silva has done the right thing in getting his Captain's help to express himself. And hats off to Mr Kesavan.

I think whether you need a translator or not it is good to have english in your resume. The point of how well you speak it can be assessed later on. For god sake, have you seen how Kumara Sangakarra speaks, bloody educated man I'd say. Of course, he is a law student, so that comes with the territory. Never shy away but get better with you interacting skills. Hiding from questions isn't going to make your comments any greater.

i would just summarize in one single line " silva proves he has a big heart. One needs that in this constant english speaking bagging world, and mukul has much bigger heart to be able to pick up such an incredible moment"

Aren't cricketers (and sportsmen in general) supposed to be ambassadors of their countries? If so, isn't it fair to expect them to know basic spoken English if not be like Shakespeare? In fact, if they improve their linguistic skills in English, it makes them all the more marketable (think ads in multiple languages across continents) which in turn fills their pockets, right? And finally, you never know when you're going run out of form (L.Sivaramakrishnan), retire (Gavaskar) or just be dropped (Arun Lal) and have to hold a microphone to do live commentary.

rob brown you are speaking the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. yerrrrrrrrr maaaate

I am not sure why this is such a controversial issue. The player of the day has to be given an opportunity to ponder over his winning performance on that day and provide the audience with a few insights. This he should be able to do in whatever language in whichever dialect and with whatever pronunciation / accent that he feels most comfortable using.

The fact that Boycott speaks with a Yorkshire tongue, Flintoff with a Lancastrian accent and Chamara in Sinhalese is totally irrelevant.

MR.SAMEER
I REALLY HOPE YOU KNOW SINHALA. AS AFTER YOUR COMMENT I RAN THROUGH THE AWARD PRESENTATION AGAIN AND FOUND THE TRANSLATION TO TO BE EXACTLY WHAT CHAMARA SAID. PLS KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO READ A BLIND MANS VIEWS.

L. FORNONI

are you the official jester of Switzerland ?

RAMON AMENDRA

mann, you are at skool. wowie. but i can not anderstand the language you speck.

next post mukul.
without a doubt silva did his language and himself proud and showed his self confidence. any one who chooses to speak in english is no less patriotic / confident. its a free world and we should have a right choose our language of communication.

i am not sure what to say to inzi and kapil type strugglers.
at one level they make a brave effort and are ready to face ridicule, at another they should stick to their mother tongue and let their performance speak for themselves. don't know.

and will someone please tell tendulkar sir not to keep saying 'i thought' all the time. its irritating.

question of the day
if all indians choose to speak in their native language how many translators would need to travel with the team?
(prizes will be announced by mukul during the WC)

RAJESH
DEAR ALL IGNOR RAJESH'S COMMENT BECAUSE HE IS A JOKER BY PROFESSION. WHETHER ANYONE ONE LIKES IT OR NOR PAKISTAN HAS THE GREATEST FAST BOWLERS AND SHOIAB IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD NOW. GUESS WHAT I AM A SRILANKAN AND NOT A PAKISTANI. YOU ARE JUST A TYPICAL INDIAN LIKE YOUR BOARD WHO DIDN'T VOTE IN FAVOUR OF REMOVING DARYLE HAIR. HAD IT BEEN A PAKISTANI NO MATTER HOW GOOD AN UMPIRE HE IS YOU WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR REMOVAL. YOU ARE JUST ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL OF THE SYSTEM (WHITE'S GULAAM)

You are there to play good cricket, If you do so then you will have a chance to talk in the inerview, So not necessary to be ready for the interview before you play, Silva would have never though of the interwiev if otherwise he would not have played so well, A language should not put a player not to be a hero, Silva proved that language does not matter in cricket

Well said Mukul. I can't beg to differ. It is definitely not a question of answering in a native tongue to pass on the message that you value your custom/language more than English. What's important is for a player to convey freely and comfortably what he feels - in whatever local language he prefers and using teammates as translators. That way he would be understood better by the whole tele audience.

Learning a int'l language is a very good idea. But nobody can express himself as well as in the language he used to think. I remember in one Oscar renowned polish director Andreij Wadzeda (I am not sure abt spellings) when accepting his award quite bravely said that because Polish is the language he always used to think he'll made the speech in polish although he can made it in several european language without troube. Learning english is good , but why do we fear to express ourselves in the language we are natural.

I agree entirely with your point, although in stating that "the majority of international cricket’s fans (and increasingly its players) are not English speaking" you are completely wrong with regard to the players, and only half-correct with regard to the fans.

NZ, Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe all have English as the primary language amongst the Test playing nations, so where do you get a majority of players whose mother tongue is not English from?

There may be more fans who don't have English as a mother tongue, but this is solely because of the enormous population of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - whether it is meaningful to speak of a 'majority of international cricket fans' in this context is highly debatable. (Perhaps the ICC could pay heed to this point a little more often).

Why is anyone paying any attention to Rajesh's digressive views on Pakistani fast bowlers? Kindly do not dignify them with a response. And where is this holier-than-thou "Non-Vegetarian Third Party" chap getting his inside scoop from? Are we left to assume that the great Lloyd hobnobs with "NVTP" routinely? And, finally, a spot of good news for Lucia: All is not lost, so don't lose hope.

Coming to the article in question: Why is it necessary to be anything more than respectfully accepting of Chamara's preference to reply in Sinhala? (Or Inzi's preference for Urdu and Viru's and Kaif's preference for Hindi, for that matter?) Why must it go down in legend and song as an epochal moment in International Cricket?

Vikas: very well said. Fornoni is not only the jester but also the idiot of Switzerland! And very very good point on the Indian team with 14 official languages and fairly all round representation how many translators will we need? Excellent one!

And Rajesh if Fornoni is the official idiot-jester of Switzerland you are the same for India. Useless and pointless comment you made. You need to relax this is Cricket!

And I would just like to remind the Non Vegetarian Third Party Gentleman (writing your name would be simpler?) about the bats issue:Others have been found using faulty bats as well you could have raised the issue without taking names in a more diginfied manner. Two wrongs don't make a right so don't go about pointing fingers because your team has enough controversy as it is and it's a very big glass house over there as well mate. But your point is relevant and taken.

Nirbhay Singh

A different thought: I wonder how possible it is for a Tamil Sri Lankan who does not speak good Sinhalese to play cricket for Sri Lanka! Players like Murali who grew up in Sinhalese neighbourhood are often interviewed in Sinhalese by the local media. Most of the in-field conversations are in Sinhalese (I would assume it is the same story off field too). It is practically impossible for someone who does not speak good Sinhalese to rise through the ranks and to successfully represent Sri Lanka. If English is not a must, how are we going to manage teams with poeple who don't speak the same language??

To be fair, Kesavan does make a very valid point. It is good to keep him on his toes and away from sensational but empty stuff.

Well, I see sub-continent players/officials always been under the microscope and small mistakes get a lot of media scrutinity. But, I dont see anything for Australian or English teams. Australia is changing 15 mand squad given to ICC for world cup. May be they have some players injured but, I bet you if same thing happened to Indian team,there would be talk about cheating aspect. This is not the right post on this blog but I will add it anyway. I am not saying Australia shouldnt be allowed to change squad due to injuries but if this wastn happen to Australia and it did to India it would be big hype. ICC might have initially refusing it to accept and India might have needed to make so many appeals etc. It is time now we play some politics too. Tit for Tat, may be. Lets just mak big deal out of it.

Tremendous point - as an Indian who has lived and worked with English-speaking people for many years I can confidently say this much - most of the world's higher knowledge is ONLY available in non-English languages. English may have become or rather been enforced upon the rest of the world as a lingua franca, but it is also the language of lowest common denominator. I have no prejudice against the English language but I do state that it is no more than one language amongst a whole sea of world languages. Non-English speakers really ought to have confidence, pride and dignity in expressing themselves in their own languages.

Mukul Keshavan,

I'm an avid reader of your blog and Kamran Abassi's blog. We need to give Chamara Silva time as he has just come into international cricket. I'm sure he will surprise everyone one day when he speaks English like Kumara Sangakara one day. Chamara Silva's technique clearly indicates that cricket lovers are going to see more of him in the future, which means he will get a chance to play county cricket too. If he spends time for one season in county cricket he is going to learn to speak English. I feel English is necessary as this is a common language of communication among diverse teams that play cricket.
Rajesh - your comments on some of the Pakistani players is not right, if you are a cricket lover you should not be making comments on players skills and ability. It is their competitive ability and skill that makes cricket a lovely game to watch.
Non-Veg 3rd Party - Nobody has the right to criticize the great players names you mentioned. It is a shame if you have criticized them. Today the game of cricket has grown in popularity only because the names you have mentioned have made a major contribution to the game.