India VS New Zealand might be a cracker of a game, but Indian Twitter is a little occupied with something else around the match. It’s the viewing quality, to be precise.
Twitter user Rahul Fernandes shared a thread listing the reasons why he believed the quality of viewing a good Test match in India is inferior compared to those in Australia, England and the likes.
Unpopular opinion: Cricket matches in India don’t look great on TV. It’s invariably hazy, the outfield isn’t picture-perfect, the stands don’t look pleasant, and the ground is always full of hoardings from tacky brands. #INDvsNZ
— Rahul Fernandes (@newspaperwallah) November 25, 2021
It’s really not about the geography. Forget England, Australia and South Africa. Those three desert stadia in the UAE manage to look spectacular on most days. BCCI needs to play top-class cricket at its best venues, not ‘traditional’ centers that haven’t kept up with the times.
— Rahul Fernandes (@newspaperwallah) November 25, 2021
Fernandes was also of the opinion that cities that had clean air should be given preference to host international games over cities that didn’t.
In the winter, under floodlights, things often look worse. I think cities that have poor air quality (Delhi, Kanpur, and a few others) don’t deserve to host the world’s best players. Reward states that offer clean air. There are fans in every nook of India.
He added:
Now spare a thought for the New Zealand team, which breathes the cleanest air in the world. In Kanpur, they’re being punished with the worst in the world. Test them in heat, and on crumbling pitches, but poor air quality is not fair.
Most of Desi Twitter is nodding in agreement!
Petition for India to play all its game at Dharamshala https://t.co/pkPkIJatrX
— Higgs Boson (@devansh1103) November 26, 2021
Ihv been saying this for ages, @BCCI USE SOME OF THAT MONEY FOR BETTER PURPOSES PLEASE, It hurts my eyes seeing all those ads nd haze Offcourse https://t.co/AWdF2CYAHS
— Atam Sidhu (@sidhu_atam) November 26, 2021
Just cannot agree more
— Mukund Bubna (@mukund_bubna) November 25, 2021
Test matches in India look pathetically bad. It gets really difficult for a viewer to stay hooked on to the game if it's not very interesting. Matches in Aus & Eng are much more pleasant & enjoyable to watch – draws the viewers@BCCI save the game. Please! https://t.co/Pneul0oHEN
Can’t agree more 🙌
— Lockie Ferguson (@LaukiFerusgun) November 25, 2021
Really don’t love watching the hazy matches after paying for HD connections 😭
And seeing Pan Bahar hoardings everywhere also makes things disgusting 🤢 https://t.co/o92ECu2rnx
Someone needs to seriously address this wtf https://t.co/rIW9HLOx3F
— Amal Thomas (@AmalTho79278267) November 25, 2021
this is a very popular opinion. Cricket in South Asia comes with an in-built Hollywood shithole filter. https://t.co/54fFW5QDOA
— uncritically overexcited (@doctorwhothefuc) November 25, 2021
So true. Stadiums at times look like local grounds for district level games. It is true the scheduling should be geographically democratic and few states should not have a monopoly but some minimum standards should be maintained. Quality over everything.
-Karan Shevale
Exactly what i was feeling while watching the #IndvNz series. https://t.co/HZQRyKAq5O
— Robin (@imrobin1729) November 25, 2021
All the cricket matches in India look worst on television, with hazy visuals, bizarre ads of pan masala, shabby viewing gallery and stands. Can’t the richest cricket board in the world learn something from the world? https://t.co/i82rrRxLCP
— Ninad Kharkar🐙 (@ninadkharkar) November 26, 2021
So true 😔they look good only during IPL https://t.co/jAN108KaUK
— Kaushal (@kaushal_13_) November 25, 2021
It’s actually popular opinion (Source – Streets) https://t.co/XbjmHRdiy0
— rishav (@oyeerishav) November 25, 2021
Can’t be an unpopular opinion? Stadiums in India are hideous both on TV and in person. Dharamshala and maybe Mohali are the only slight exceptions.
-Saleem Pheku
Matches in India look like there is a sand storm in the field. You can just sense that dust on camera. That is completely invisible in matches in England.
-Ok?
However, there were some who believed the viewing experience in India is due to our geography and the sponsors we have and, there isn’t much we could change about that.
Better than watching in stadiums which all look alike https://t.co/eHRZIU76Br
— OneDimensionalGoethic (@AltofGoethic) November 25, 2021
What are Tacky brands??
— Ekita (@LostByWaves) November 25, 2021
Brands used by middle and lower middle class??
Elitism dekhlo.. https://t.co/YsVv0mMna2
The point on haze and outfield is well taken. But I don’t understand this obsession with “tacky brands”. Is a Cred hoarding more aesthetically pleasing than a pan bahar hoarding? Remove all the hoardings if you can, else every brand hoardings is equal in my eyes. https://t.co/Gh3u9LxHcO
— cricBC (@cricBC) November 25, 2021
“tacky brands”.
— Shilpa Anand (@shilpaanand) November 26, 2021
Understand the point re optics/aesthetics and the wisdom of playing in a city with bad air, but labelling homegrown firms as tacky is, sorry to say, elitist.
Vimal Elaichi Filmfare is still a thing.
Gotta respect businesses that bring money to a sport/ event https://t.co/ROnaQEKnqD
Point to ponder, thought I may not agree with the tacky boards – these ads are those that fuel the game. https://t.co/MCkFb3piPT
— Pradeep Ramakrishnan (@PradRam9) November 26, 2021
Grass problem can be solved with R&D, and as for sponsors, we take what we get. Australia usually has beer producers as sponsors, so what? It’s the money that matter, you have a problem? Why don’t you find them “cool-looking” sponsors then? https://t.co/xPPtLHCpP4
— 👻 (@gujjulegacy) November 25, 2021
What do you think?