Kunal (earlier Shardul) Pandit, the host of MTV and Voot cricket reality show, BCL, is very happy to be back to needling everyone. “I am having fun at everybody’s expense and by now, most are used to it. I must be doing my job well for them to have retained me for three years on the trot, while my other co-hosts have come and gone.”
“The best thing is that there are no scripts. Spontaneity is the name of the BCL game, as you can’t guess what will happen on the next ball.” Here Kunal tackles the allegations that most of the drama abounding this 10 over a side unisex format is contrived.
“Can’t this be said of all reality shows? Let’s face it, BCL is not vanilla cricket but rather an entertainment show. This season, Rakhi Sawant was my co-commentator, and she did not spare even the poor umpires in her trademark mad style.”
He also rejected allegations by certain players who questioned the format of stopping the game after every four, six or a wicket for chitchat. “I have said this even on the show that if you want to play real cricket, go to the IPL. A TV show will have its own dynamics, complete with cheerleaders and big names (Pearl V Puri, Karan Patel, Arjun Bijlani, Anita Hassanandani, Erica Fernandes and Surbhi Jyoti) in the dugout. It is akin to going to Bigg Boss and then cribbing about fights.”
So how different will you be this year? “This time I am being really sarcastic. Last time around, I had used lots of internet lingo.”
Like every year, this year too witty Kunal had face offs with some of the players. “I again had a serious on-field argument with Karan Wahi, but it soon fizzled out, and now we joke about it whenever we meet.”
“Arshi Khan also was very upset with me for she felt that I had switched off her mic. Someone from the Chennai team questioned the need of having women in the fray and I gave it back. Let’s see how all this will be shown, once the fourth season starts airing from 29th April on MTV and Voot. We have already shot all the matches.”
Here Kunal is not really perturbed if some of the players on whom he took digs take the matter home. “That is their issue. If you play bad cricket, I will tease you about it. Above all, nobody but Balaji is paying my bill, so my loyalty would obviously be towards them. And it’s not that they have not gone below the belt either. “
In closing, when asked about the low pre-launch buzz regarding BCL this year, both on TV and on social media, he quipped, “No comments. I am just the host. Kindly ask the channel PR.”
