Amitabh Bachchan Criticised on Twitter After Taking Indirect Dig at Harsha Bhogle’s Commentary During India-South Africa T20 Cricket Match

Netizens slammed Big B for his 'lack of knowledge' of the game

Written by: Shruti Venkatesh

Updated: February 21, 2018, 10:22 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/viral/amitabh-bachchan-criticised-on-twitter-after-taking-indirect-dig-at-harsha-bhogles-commentary-during-india-south-africa-t20-cricket-match-2906984/ Copy

On Sunday, India beat Africa by 28-runs in the 1st T20 international. Cricket being one of the most passionately watched sports in India, this news naturally was welcomed with thundering applause across all the country. Fans cheered the Indian cricket team led by captain Virat Kohli. And like most of India, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan too was extremely happy with the win. He praised the men in blue for their brilliant play and aggression. But the latter part of his tweet created quite a stir on social media. However, amidst the praise, Sr. Bachchan also took a dig at the ‘biased commentary’, which many believe was directed towards Harsha Bhogle.

The 76-year old took a dig at the ‘biased commenting’ during the match, and said that ‘every time you (the commentator) do that we WIN handsomely’. In 2016 too, Bachchan had slammed Indian commentary in one of his tweets. It was said to be an indirect dig at renowned Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle. ‘”T 2184 – With all due respects, it would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time,” Bachchan tweeted on March 24, 2016’. This tweet was also endorsed by MS Dhoni, soon after which, Harsha was dropped from the BCCI commentary panel. But the 2018 tweet has left the netizens furious.

Here is what Amitabh said on February 18, 2018:

T 2619 – INDIA wins first T20 against SoAf .. brilliant play .. loved the aggression .. and loved the bias commentating .. keep doing that please ..coz’ every time you do that we WIN handsomely ! pic.twitter.com/q3cES8Q772

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 18, 2018

Here is his tweet from March 24, 2016:

T 2184 – With all due respects, it would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time.

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 23, 2016

But Bachchan’s 2018 tweet has not had the same effect as his 2016 tweet. This time around, the tables have turned and the netizens have slammed Amitabh Bachchan for his ‘lack of knowledge’ of the game. Some even said that Harsha Bhogle is the best commentator and pointed out that commentary means being ‘neutral’ and not praising one’s own country players all the time.

Here is how the netizens reacted to Amitabh Bachchan’s tweet:

If your indication is towards @bhogleharsha then you need to work on your knowledge of the game.

— burhan (@burhanqutub) February 18, 2018

Legend:

Exactly. @bhogleharsha is the living legend of commentary

— Gajanan Gosavi (@imgajanang) February 18, 2018

People disagreed with Amitabh:

Uncle Since ur a senior, u think u always have right to say anything about anyone. As usual You continue to spit venom about @bhogleharsha but he will remain one of the bestest commentator after Tony Greig.

— Younus Mohammad (@Younus4frndz) February 18, 2018

Don’t call it a bias, said many:

As a commentator, one’s job is to explain the game to the viewer from both sides perspective. So, if a team is doing something good on the field, even though it might be the opponent, you’ve to say it as such. I don’t call it a bias.

— Moinak Das (@iMD_84) February 19, 2018

Support for Harsha poured in:

Commentary have to be neutral. If you are pointing this to @bhogleharsha you are making a mistake. He is a tremendous commenter with adequate knowledge about the cricket. And most importantly he speaks brutal truth. #INDvsSA

— Nitish™ (@nitishtweets) February 19, 2018

People called Harsha the ‘best commentator’:

If u r talking about @bhogleharsha than u know ntng about cricket they have to be neutral n he harsha sir is one of the best commentators india have got

— Sau’rabh Rahane (@junior_chavan) February 18, 2018

Let them do their job, said some:

Sir why are you after commentators. Let them do their job, every team feels they are biased, now how is that possible if you fans are never happy. @bhogleharsha

— Mahi (@myadav15) February 18, 2018

It must be noted that Amitabh Bachchan has not named the commentator in his tweet, which accuses a ‘bias’. However, netizens have assumed that he is referring to Harsha Bhogale in this tweet. Mumbai Mirror reports that unlike the last time, there will not be a professional impact this time. ‘Harsha will not only continue to commentate for Sony, he will continue to be a part of the BCCI-approved commentators’ list. This means he also will be part of the commentary team for the coming IPL (on Star) and every international game in India’, states the newspaper. India is leading the three-match T20I series 1-0 against South Africa. The second match wil be played on Wednesday.