From the 2015 World Cup to the upcoming IPL, Jatin Sapru has been fast gaining fame as one of India’s top cricket presenters, despite never having played first-class cricket.
The Star Sports host was in Chennai recently, hosting VIVO IPL Game Plan In Your City at Don Bosco School, Egmore. He took some time out to discuss with us his transition from engineering to sports, his favourite cricketers, his love for Chennai food and more.
Could you tell us about your journey from starting out as an engineering graduate to becoming one of the country’s most well-recognised sports presenters?
I’m not an engineering graduate, I’m a dropout. It took me flunking for my father to understand I couldn’t pursue engineering. Then I got into journalism. I never set off to become a cricket anchor. I just enjoy whatever job I have been given — from being a production assistant in a news channel to being a presenter. There is no set formula, I just take one step at a time.
Do you have advice for young fans who aspire to be TV presenters?
Don’t aspire to be one in the first place. I always wanted to be around sports, which is why I wouldn’t be frustrated even when I was earning a pittance. Before being a presenter, you need to learn all the roles required in production. You need to master both the language you broadcast in and the content. But don’t do it for the fame, do it only because you are passionate about your field.
It seems like a glamorous job. What are the challenges that you have had to face as a cricket anchor?
I have faced a lot of hardships to get to this level, to be honest. There was a time when I would distribute pamphlets in parking lots to earn a quick buck. But now that I’m at this level, I can’t call it a hard day even if I work 15 hours a day, because that day was spent with Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag. Also, you need to be on your toes all the time. There are times your brain will just switch off in front of the camera.
So there have been times you’ve been tongue-tied when you’re on live television? How do you overcome that?
Yes, in fact, in the early days, I would hate watching my own shows. Even now there are moments when I just blank out. But a good anchor always has a good producer speaking to him in his ear, helping him out at times like these. They’re the non-striker to our striker. With time, you learn to snap out of it. I also keep a lot of statistics and nuggets of information in hand, about the venue, the fans, the history. I use them while I’m struggling to figure out how to take the show forward.
Is there any particular cricket match that is a fond memory from your childhood?
The first game I saw was an India-Zimbabwe match that my father had forced me to watch when I was in class IV. My fondest memory is of India beating Australia in the 2001 test series. My Class X board exams were on and that was the day Harbhajan took the hattrick. I finished my exam and forced my father to break all traffic rules because I wanted to make it home in time to watch the match.
You have also done commentaries before. Do you find it more challenging than anchoring?
Commentary is an extension of presenting. My challenge as an outsider was to earn the respect of my co-commentators and experts. I remember sitting with Kapil paaji on my first stint, and asking him a lot of questions. Then in the break, he told me, ‘You are not a presenter here, you are a commentator.’ I can’t talk like an expert but I can call the shot; I am the colour commentator. I don’t have to give my opinion on whether the transfer of weight was right or not but I can describe a cover drive in beautiful words.
How do you feel about hosting IPL 2018?
This is another dream job. It’s probably the most watched tournament after the World Cups. There’s no scope for emotions to run dry. The challenge lies in learning the stats on so many players, that’s what makes it so interesting.
Which team do you think has the best chance this time? How is Chennai Super Kings looking?
Sunrisers Hyderabad has the best chance on paper. Almost every team is lacking in some or the other department, which is why I think this is going to be the most competitive IPL in the last four to five years. CSK is struggling in fast bowling. But then they have MS Dhoni’s experience, so you don’t know what’s going to happen. That said, they are not in my top four.
Have you been to Chennai before? How do you like the city?
I’ve been here many times. As much as I hate the heat, I love the food here; I could eat it three times a day, 365 days a year. The fans’ energy here in this city is the best. But I need to come to Chennai on a vacation once… when my mother doesn’t know I am here so I am not under pressure to buy sarees.
You are an interviewer who is being interviewed. If you were the one conducting this interview, what would you have asked yourself?
I only ask myself one thing. Whenever I have a frustrating day and I crib to myself, I ask myself this: What right do you have to crib, boss? You have a dream job. What you do is what a million people in this country would give an arm and a leg to do. That gives me a reality check.
