Ardeshir Furdorji Sohrabji "Bobby" Talyarkhan (1897–13 July 1990) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

commentator. Talyarkhan was one of the earliest cricket commentators in India. His radio commentaries played an important role in spreading of the game and making the name of the players throughout the country.

Bombay Pentangular The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Bombay Gymkhana Ground, Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then ...

owed some of its popularity to his voice. He first commentated on a match between

Parsees The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, whe ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

played at the

Bombay Gymkhana The Bombay Gymkhana, established in 1875, is a premier private members' club in the city of Mumbai, India. It is located at the triangular end of Azad Maidan in the Fort area of South Mumbai and is in close proximity of Chhatrapati Shivaji ...

in November 1934. Talyarkhan had "a fine command of English, a polished public speaking style and an ability to create dramatic interest in the game". He disliked sharing the microphone and did the commentaries all alone throughout the day.

Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history. He is an important autho ...

felt that he "brought to cricket broadcasting a rich, fruity voice and a fund of anecdotes. He was ambitious and opinionated, with a voice that was 'beer-soaked, cigarette-stained'. His self control was superhuman, for he would speak without interruptions, except for lunch and tea." His career with the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

ended with the series against

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in 1948–49. AIR insisted on having a team of three commentators, with which Talyarkhan disagreed. The only time he shared the mike was when

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

made its first tour of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1954–55. He made a brief reappearance in 1972-73 when he presented the close of play summaries. He was the father-in-law of actor

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he wa ...

and thus maternal grandfather of actors

Rahul Khanna Rahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ, model and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the eldest son of actor Vinod Khanna and the elder brother of Akshaye Khanna. Early life and background Khanna was born and raised in Mu ...

and

Akshaye Khanna Akshaye Khanna (born 28 March 1975) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. Khanna is known for his versatility, which has secured him numerous accolades including two Filmfare Awards. Born to actor Vinod Khanna, he made his acting deb ...

. Talyarkhan continued writing his daily columns till his death on 13 July 1990.

References

* Obituary in ''ACSSI Almanack'', 1989–90 * Richard Cashman, ''Patrons, Players and the Crowd : The Phenomenon of Indian Cricket'' *

, ''A Corner of a Foreign Field'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Talyarkhan, Bobby Indian cricket commentators Parsi people from Mumbai 1990 deaths 1897 births Cricketers from Mumbai