Can you come over to India, please?

To those of you who think who have never seen or heard about a “John Oliver”,

give me the opportunity to correct you, because most of us, Indians, have definitely come across this video of “Last Week Tonight” talking about Narendra Modi’s visit to US: (Those who get butt hurt easily, please don’t continue with this article, or this video, or LWT)

And if you had never really come across this video of John Oliver before, then my sincere apologies for stereotyping you! My bad!

If you look up John Oliver in Wikipedia, you will see that he is listed as a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television host, voice actor, political satirist and a media critic! Phew! That’s a lot!

But what if I tell you that there is still one more description about him that is not listed there in wiki, that I and many of his admirers have come to associate him with?

A JOURNALIST!

Let me tell you, I have read a few of his interviews, where he has said that he is anything but a journalist, but as someone who follows his work, I know. You are lying there John! You are a freaking journalist! And a kickass one at that! I am like a fan boy of his show “Last Week Tonight” and if this article sounds like an excited 15 year old girl writing about twilight, well, damn you! I wasn’t going for that.

I am probably his biggest fan from the sub continent and I consume almost any 

video of LWT that I could lay my hands on because of the presence of three most binding elements he has going for himself in Last Week Tonight:

1.       Sarcasm

2.       Sarcasm

3.       Sarcasm

And add to it tons of research on a topic, presented with statistical analysis, quotes from the bureaucrats, politicians, public and also media and then followed by a tear down of those quotes in the most hilarious ways with analogies that would make you roll on the floor.

He essentially carries out his own form of journalism, of course duly supported by many people working for the show behind the scenes, with proper research but it is about the way he presents it! He does it in a way in which he almost doesn’t want you to take him or the show seriously, but packs a punch that will make you really take him seriously! Consider this video in fact that he had posted couple of weeks ago on the problems being faced by poultry farmers in the US:

Or those who are inclined towards football, this:

Or those who want to know about ‘Civil Forfeiture’, this:

Yes, most of his videos deal with American issues, but if you are a global citizen with no boundaries to tie down your mind, you may enjoy his show.

Also it’s not just about his 15-20 minute takes, it is even more so about his 3-4 minute takes, where you know he is only fooling around to crack you up, but yet, somewhere, in the beginning or the end in a ‘blink and you miss’ statement, he delivers the punch in them too.

Like this video on Climate change debate:

Or this video on US intervention in middle-east, wrapped thoroughly around Peru!:

Or this down-right hilarious one on Tony Abott!

Or this on UK Labour Party:

There’s just something about john oliver’s content delivery that you know has the perfect blend of humor and seriousness. Sometimes we want to take things easy, see it in a lighter way, and yet are concerned about it, and John Oliver is a true reflection of ourselves in that way.

I only wish he could do a season in India (he’ll probably have shoes thrown at him after one episode) but there are many of us who want to smear things down with some humor. So, John, can you come to India, please? 

PS: You can't miss this video of Stephen Hawking! 

Turbunator 2.0

With 101 test caps and 413 wickets, one would wonder how Harbhajan Singh missed out on the Indian team for three consecutive years especially considering how badly we fared up in the spin department during that time where we were outclassed by Lyon on Australian pitches, the English duo of Swann and Monty on Indian pitches and most embarrassingly by Moeen Ali in the English summer last year.  But Ashwin, Jadeja and Ojha, for their part, did not perform so poorly that it set the alarm bells ringing. Dhoni, as we have known him, doesn’t drop players once he gives them chance and to be fair, all of them kept improving with each outing. But have they improved enough?

How the tables have turned!

That was the question facing the new Dada on the block, Kholi. He has an aggressive personality and he wants match winners. And the first thing he does after getting full time captaincy is roping in a true established match winner of Indian Cricket- Bhajji.

Now, I am a quintessential sentimental Indian cricket fan who would love to see all the old boys back in the team, from the yuvrajs to the zaheers to the sehwags to the gambhirs and this development only fills my heart. But I had to ask myself, is it the best foot forward for Indian cricket? By taking a step backwards? I am pretty sure many fans like me wondered.

Harbhajan’s performance in the last two Ranji Seasons did not augur for consideration let alone selection. In 2013-14 season, he played 6 matches for 22 wickets and the 2014-15 season, 3 matches for 6 wickets, dishing out performances that wouldn’t force himself back into the Indian Test Team. Yet he makes a comeback into a Test squad solely on the form and rhythm displayed in a T20 league. And the third spinner in the squad Karn Sharma too was picked based on his T20 exploits. It’s definitely not a reassuring sign.

Having said that, I am still betting on Kholi and the selectors to have made the right decision. That is because cricket is more than just numbers. It’s about instinct after a certain level. Karn Sharma, though was beaten all over the park in his first test in Adelaide, is a good enough spinner to the eye, and he has to develop his trade on the move with the team due to the dearth of other quality leg spinners running in the circuit and also because of the time it would take for him to develop on “greener” Indian tracks (For reference to ‘greener’, read: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ranji-trophy-2014-15/content/story/813007.html ) , and as far as Bhajji is concerned, we all know that the veterans are always just one match away, and if a T20 league could supply enough of confidence to push Bhajji to that one match, it would do.

Bhajji's new spell

Bhajji not only got the numbers behind himself in IPL8 but also impressed everyone with his spells. He was accurate, spun the ball well with good flight and varying loops. One could see that everything was going well for Bhajji with the ball. Bhajji’s inclusion could also be justified on the lines that it is important for selectors, the media and also the fans, to not get carried away by all the talk about “future” as concentrating on the match and series at hand is the best way to go forward.

If Bhajji would get a look-in in the one-match test series remains to be seen, but if he does, we would all love to see the Turbunator back at his best, delivering match turning performances, because Indian Cricket needs him, an experienced quality spinner, more than ever. I and legions of fans like me, wish him the best!

PS: He is Dada's boy, a fighter! So even the harshest of his critics will soon be biting their tongue. XD