Former Australia cricketer Kerry O’Keeffe finds himself in the midst of another commentary-related controversy during the third Test between India and Australia in Melbourne.
O’Keeffe, who is commentating for Fox Cricket in Australia, and is heard on air in India as well with rights holder Sony Sports using a combination of its own in-studio commentary and the world feed, was slammed for his inability to pronounce Indian names properly.
While O’Keeffe has been on air through the series, pronouncing names like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja has not been easy for him. There is nothing alarming as such with having issues pronouncing foreign names, but the matter crossed a line on Saturday when Shane Warne asked his co-commentator about his difficulty.
O’Keeffe responded with, “Why would you name your kid Cheteshwar, Jadeja,” accompanied by chuckles from his fellow commentators on air.
This is not the first time he has been called out during this Test match.
“Apparently he got the triple [century] against the Railways canteen staff,” O’Keeffe, was quoted as saying on air during the first day of the Test, referring to Mayank Agarwal’s triple century in the Ranji Trophy.
After getting a lot of flak on social media for his comments, O’Keeffe issued an apology, saying he had only said that “tongue in cheek”. But even the apology was with a caveat, saying he was sorry if it offended someone – not exactly apologising for what was an ill-informed remark.
Interestingly, the Daily Telegraph published a rating for the commentators from Fox Cricket and 7Cricket for the ongoing series, where O’Keeffe finds himself at No 3, with a one-line verdict that seems fairly ironic, given his recent remarks: “Not just a funny bloke. Well researched and loves the game.”
The fact that a commentator paid to cover the most high-profile series of the Australian summer has troubles pronouncing the opponent’s names (three Tests into the series, no less) did not go down well on social media.
.@FoxCricket - Don't know if this makes an impact but can there a place where people can opine on the commentary? If the esteemed people in place, can't pronounce names, shouldn't they be making fun of their inability more?
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 29, 2018
The woeful commentary panel ever!! @FoxCricket, fire them.
— Monica (@monicas004) December 29, 2018
dear sony studio commentary, I miss you.
— S/R (@_whatsinaname) December 29, 2018
If these Aussie comms can’t even pronounce Ravindra Jadeja properly, they should actually stop commentating. And asking ‘Why would you name your kid Cheteshwar?’ - that is the pits of commentary. Not outraging. Just calling out shit commentary #AUSvIND
— Hemant (@hemantbuch) December 29, 2018
Right. Can't make fun of anything else, so back to pronouncing Indian names game. Jokers in the commentary box.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) December 29, 2018
The Australian commentary used to be a pleasure to listen to. Now it’s just disappointing. Plain disappointing whichever lens I look at it from. Ignorant, slanted, grudging.
— Jatin Paranjape (@jats72) December 29, 2018
Aussies from the playing XI can't decipher Ravindra Jadeja's spin.
— North Stand Gang - Wankhede (@NorthStandGang) December 29, 2018
Aussies from the commentary box can't pronounce his name.
This has to be the most incompetent Australian cricketing community on show. @kokeeffe49 definitely leads the way#AUSvIND #BoxingDayTest
Has O'Keefe already decided that he is doing his final commentary stint? Coz this ain't comms. These are just bad, racist remarks. #AUSvIND
— Aishu Haridas (@imaishu_) December 29, 2018
Disgraceful if O'Keeffe calls another Test after this.
— End of Cricket (@CricAussieFan) December 29, 2018
The sad part about this is that KOK takes his commentary damn seriously. By most accounts, he is a top-class student of the game and diligently keeps notes. The global audience is not getting the best of him. As a long-time ABC listener, I hope we can soon see the best of him
— Sidvee (@sidvee) December 29, 2018
Couldn't agree more. It's one thing to attempt to humour, however manufactured, but Kerry O'Keefe in particular has only made a fool of himself when talking about most things Indian through this series. Borderline racist, exposes his own limitations as commentator. #AUSvIND https://t.co/uxdg4mexYU
— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) December 29, 2018
The saddest jokes are the ones you crack about sucking at your job. If you can't pronounce the names, don't sit their calling international games. Commentary requires you to do your homework on the players, not just their names but their state teams and past records.
— cricBC (@cricBC) December 29, 2018
This tweet would sum up how most fans would feel right now.
Best commentator award of the year goes to: Stump mic 😃
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) December 29, 2018