Harsha Bhogle’s Thoughtful Gestures That Blew Me Away

I had the pleasure of working alongside the “Voice of Cricket”, Harsha Bhogle, during India’s recently concluded tour of England. As I was typing out the very loaded phrase “Voice of Cricket”, I couldn’t help but think that there’s a high, or at the very least, a non-trivial probability that it’s a grand moniker that Harsha Bhogle balks at owing to how humble a man he is. I mean, just look at how uneasy and embarrassed being called a “Cricket Legend” during this interview made him feel.

Both titles, even though fully deserved and justified, limit our perception of him to cricketing terms only. He’s more than just the doyen of Cricket broadcasting; he’s an absolute class act as a human being, and the rest of this article will shed light on a couple of incidents involving him and me that propelled my respect for Harsha Bhogle, the human being, to stratospheric levels.

During India’s recent tour of England, I was working for Sony Sports Network hosting a segment called “School of Cricket”, which was a part of the main show that was hosted by Harsha Bhogle.

After the end of the very first pre-match show leading up to the start of Day 1 of the solitary test match, I bumped into Harsha in the corridor of the Sony office. He was his usual warm and genial self as we exchanged pleasantries, after which he apologised to me for not having mentioned my name as he was throwing to the “School of Cricket” segment on the show. At that very instant, I was a wee bit perplexed, not quite sure of what he was apologising for. It was only later that I put two and two together and realised that he wanted to give my name a boost, not least because I’m a young presenter who’s trying to make a name for himself in the sports broadcasting profession.

On the following day, i.e. Day 2 of the Test match, I had ‘pre-recorded’ my “School of Cricket” segment. In other words, instead of doing it LIVE during the pre-match show, we had recorded it in advance of the show, and Sony would subsequently play the recording during the LIVE show.

Having completed my duties, I decided to watch the pre-match LIVE show from the production control room. The production control room, or "PCR" as it’s commonly called, is where the production of a LIVE show is controlled. This is also where the producer and director of the show communicate with the show’s host(s) and guest(s) who wear earpieces that enable them to have the producer and director of the show 'in their ear'.

I stood in the PCR watching with rapt attention while eagerly awaiting the part of the show where my pre-recorded “School of Cricket” segment would air. When the moment arrived, Harsha threw to the start of my segment with no mention of my name. I thought that he would mention my name given the short exchange that we had had the previous day; but, I wasn’t the least bit crestfallen. It’s not that he was obligated to take my name anyway. Besides, with a plethora of moving parts that an anchor has to juggle during a big-ticket LIVE show, one cannot expect him/her to remember to deliver every single detail and piece of information.

Having said that, a couple of seconds into the start of my segment, I was in for a pleasant surprise. I see and hear Harsha, through one of the many monitors in the PCR, confirming my name with the Producer. “It’s Anubhav Jain, right?” Harsha asks the Producer during his downtime. Upon receiving confirmation from the Producer and upon the conclusion of my segment i.e. when Harsha is back “in frame”, he says “Right, that was Ajit Agarkar with Anubhav Jain”, before seamlessly transitioning to his discussion with the experts.

This may seem like a small gesture; but, in my eyes, it was a touch of class. I ought to also mention that, during all the subsequent shows over the course of the entirety of India’s tour of England, never once did Harsha fail to take my name when throwing to my segment and/or when coming out of it.

Fast forward to the last day of India’s tour. The 3rd ODI had just concluded, which marked the commencement of the post-match show. I waited patiently at the Sony office until the end of the show such that I could bid my goodbyes to Harsha and the experts who were part of the show panel. Despite it being post-midnight when the show concluded, Harsha walked out of the studio with his usual infectious smile and proceeded towards the green room. Seeing no one other than Harsha in the green room, I walked in; but, even before I could say something, Harsha, while packing his belongings, said to me in animated fashion - “Batayiye Anubhav, aapka anubhav kaisa raha?” (Tell me Anubhav, how has your experience been?).

What followed was a quality conversation during which he was full of words of encouragement and invaluable constructive feedback. When pointing out something that he had noticed that he felt I could do less of as an anchor, he said “We’ve all been guilty of doing this”, which instantly made the constructive feedback so much more palatable and didn’t have the consequence of me being hard on myself. When my boss walked into the green room while the two of us were in there, Harsha turned to my boss and, while pointing at me, said to him - “He’s ready to take on more and do more LIVE shoots [as opposed to pre-recorded ones]”.?

Remember, this was past midnight on the final day of a very long series that included a Test match, 3 T20Is, and 3 ODIs. Harsha didn’t have to spend a substantial amount of time providing feedback and encouragement to me. But he did. He could very easily have had a brief exchange with me, said his goodbyes, and then left for his home after what was a long and tiring day and series. But he didn’t.

These “small” yet incredibly significant and impactful actions speak louder than his cricketing voice. They speak volumes about the character of this "cricket legend", or, dare I say it, this legend.