Shawdesh Desk:

Former Pakistan’s star batsman Ramiz Raja is a seasoned commentator and he made a place for himself in modern-day cricket through his mesmerizing voice in the commentary box. The former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman has recently made a return to commentary after completing his stint as an administrator. During an exclusive chat with The Daily Sun in the side-line of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, the 61-year-old talked about many aspects of commentary.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

The Daily Sun: How do you get into commentary?

Ramiz Raja: It comes naturally to me. When I started as a commentator, I used to feel very nervous because I was pitted against the likes of Ian Chappell and some of the greats in the commentary box. The challenges were how to construct a sentence in a foreign language and make sense as a cricket expert. So it was challenging early on but again for being an ex-cricketer, it was much easier.

The Daily Sun: How important is it for a commentator to make a style of his own?

Ramiz Raja: It’s a very good question. What happens at times when you want to copy somebody and you don’t know what is best for you, the idea is to remain as natural as possible. Initially, I was told by a production company with whom I had the first gig that they couldn’t guarantee me work.

But as long as I made sense on the mic (microphone), I would get continuous gigs and that is exactly what I did later on. Suppose three commentators are here to describe a cover drive. If your description or your narration is better than the other two, you will get the next gig. If you were repetitive or you were not up to the mark and the others did well, you would not get a gig. It’s an open field where you have to excel.

The Daily Sun: For a commentator, how important is it to go over your own boundaries when you are in the commentary box doing an India-Pakistan game? Naturally, you will have some feelings for Pakistan. How important is it to be neutral then?

Ramiz Raja: You are always looking for moments where you can create an impact through commentary. In a T20, you get them more because every ball is an event. In an India-Pakistan contest, obviously, there are more eyeballs and you want to be your best because more people are listening to you. The fans or the listeners or the watchers are very clever and they will point out if you are sitting on the mic (microphone) with an agenda. If you are not honest with your observations, they will not respect you. It is not about backing Pakistan against India, it’s about being honest with you and it’s about describing what’s happening out there as honestly as possible. I tend to do that because I have got to detach myself completely from being a Pakistani and I have got to be neutral. I have got to appreciate the game and I have got to appreciate the fact that I am sitting out there as a neutral man.

The Daily Sun: Why did you choose commentary? You could have gone for coaching and other things.

Ramiz Raja: When I was asked to do commentary for the first time, my wife said you are not going to do commentary because old people do commentary. I was only then 35 and I thought of myself as 55 so I turned it down. My eldest brother had a chat with me and he told me that I was mad because nobody else was doing it for Pakistan. I listened to his advice and then I started as a commentator.

I think this profession also demands discipline because it can be hard like travelling and also coming back again and doing the same thing over and over again. You got to excel everyday and you got to make sure you outsmart yourself everyday and become the best in what you do.