Then, Mr Singh went on to make things even worse (for himself) by spewing venom at the Prime Minister on the night that he was issued a show cause notice by the Congress Party - bringing the Guinness Book of Records to weigh in against Dr Singh. Two days later, he admitted that his language (please note!) was not appropriate. Mr Singh has gone on to make all manner of accusations about American involvement in his ouster from the government, the nuclear deal and other matters of grave importance to the nation on shows such as Walk The Talk (NDTV 24x7).

Foot in mouth and sound byte disease afflicts cricketers, too - retired ones, in particular. First, Greg Chappell says Sachin Tendulkar is not entirely ‘fit’, although he is fit enough to be playing in Sri Lanka this week. Chairman of the selection committee, Kiran More steps in and claims the Master Blaster is completely ‘fit’. Just before he leaves for the emerald isle, Chappell suggests that it is to be seen whether or not Tendulkar is ‘fit’ enough to throw the ball in from the deep. Now, every single commentator will analyse The Shoulder, The Throw on air like they are orthopaedic specialists. Is it in the fitness of things?

Dean Jones wasn’t supposed to be on air when he made his infamous “terrorist” remark about Muslim South African cricketer, Hashim Amla. That doesn’t excuse his inexcusable description were it even a joke. What it does is to make you wonder what commentators really think of players whom they praise on air, off it. Also, perhaps, former cricketers, many accustomed to expressing themselves in expletives on the field of play (what else is sledging?) are not always the most polite commentators?

... contd.