Bhojpuri commentators slammed for 'offensive language'

Bhojpuri commentators faced backlash over a piece of commentary during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, March 23 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the penultimate over of SRH’s run-chase, Heinrich Klaasen pulled KKR’s costliest buy, Mitchell Starc, over the mid-wicket boundary for a massive six. Starc tried to cramp the batter for room by coming from around the wicket, but Klaasen was equal to the task as he found the middle of the bat.

ये तो अश्लीलता की परकाष्ठा है!

pic.twitter.com/69KJnW3dZL — Sanjay Kishore (@saintkishore) March 25, 2024

Thereafter, the Bhojpuri commentators lauded Klaasen for playing the stupendous shot. But the fans did not like the way they described the shot, and they slammed the commentators. One of the fans referred to the commentators as “monsters” and called for their “sacking”. In his tweet, the fan tagged Bhojpuri actors Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari and Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Hey @ravikishann @ManojTiwariMP @JayShah will you going to sack these monsters as they are degrading our language in such a vulgur way.. These bastard commentators don't know Bhojpuri at all... Shame on them.”

Another fan said that through “double meaning lines”, Bhojpuri commentary is being publicised in the wrong way. Another fan blamed Bhojpuri movies, songs and social media content for downgrading Bhojpuri culture.