Players have had discussions over the years, but these exchanges could not be heard or recorded until the invention of stump microphones. No one expected microphones on cricket stumps to contribute so much to the sport’s entertainment value when they were first installed in 1977.
Microphones have improved modern-day cricket by allowing the game to become more precise from a technological standpoint. They also provided an amusement factor by being able to record the wicketkeeper or anybody else in the proximity of the microphone’s constant babbling.
Over time, cricket has changed, and a little friendly chat on the field is no longer looked upon. In fact, as long as it isn’t insulting, it livens up the game and encourages healthy competitiveness. I mean, don’t we all enjoy chit-chats? And a little humour never hurts.
We take a look at some of the most amusing things captured on stump microphones over the years:
1. India was facing New Zealand, and the pairing of McCullum and Watling was starting to seem dangerous. MS Dhoni then made it very obvious to Jadeja what he needed to accomplish. And, well, Pujara did exactly what he wasn’t meant to do.Dhoni says,
“Ispe ek ghumega toh idhar Pujara ko ussi ke liye rakha hai, who udhar taali bajane ke liye nahi hai.”
2. Dhoni is a talker, to put it mildly. He also doesn’t put up a strong attempt to avoid being heard.
He says to Manish Pandey in this video,
“Oye bh******, idhar dekh le, udhar dekh rha hai”
Whether or not he uttered the B-word is a subject of controversy. Still, this is hilarious because Manish Pandey didn’t take it negatively.
De Gea to United defenders everytime they are on their mind fuck adventures… pic.twitter.com/v0NE0xULND
— Shubham (@_shubhxm) February 22, 2018
3. In 2005, India was facing Pakistan, and Anil Kumble had some concerns about the field positioning. Kaif, on the other hand, did not agree with him. Because Yohana (the batter) hadn’t struck a single four in 87 balls, he didn’t see the sense in putting someone on a short leg.
Kaif then proceeded to sledge Yousuf Yohana, saying,
“87 ball kheli hai, ek bhi chauka nahi maara, iski zarurat nahi hai.”
Surprisingly, Kumble carried out his strategy, as Yohana was removed due to a catch by Gambhir, who was put on short-leg.
4. Virat Kohli being a real street Virat Kohli here.
There is no need for an explanation because this is a historic and also highly controversial topic.
5. In 1984, the West Indies were playing against Australia, and the bowler Malcolm Marshall was irritated by David Boon, the batsman at the crease. So he asked him a basic, uncomplicated question.
He asked,
“Now David, are you going to get out now or am I going to have to bowl around the wicket and kill you?”
6. Apparently, Vivian Richards was batting at the moment, and the bowler, Greg Thomas, decided to mock the legend a little. He shouldn’t have done that.
Greg told Richards,
“It’s red, it’s round. Now hit it.”
On this Richards replied after hitting a sixer,
“You know what it looks like, now go and get it.”
7. Vivian Richards is involved in yet another incident. Sunil Gavaskar (usually the opener) came in at number four in a match against the West Indies. And it was useless since the batsmen who came before him were all removed before India could score a single run.
Richards told Gavaskar at this point,
“Man, it doesn’t matter where you come in, the score is still zero!”
8. While it’s difficult to fill MS Dhoni’s space behind the stumps, Rishabh Pant has gone out of his way with all of his catches and remarks. He can be heard simply going at it in this footage from India’s Test against England.
He allegedly remarked at one point,
“Mera naam hai Washington. Merko jana hai DC.”
9. Rishabh Pant had previously chosen to sing “Spiderman, Spiderman tune churaya mere dil ka chain” throughout the match because, well, why not? He made me realize that chit-chat at crease can be more entertaining than commentary.
It reminds us of the occasion when Sehwag, who was on the crease at the moment, began singing ‘kaise batayein kyun tujhko chaahein’ without giving it much thought.
Rishabh pant Singing Spiderman Spiderman 😂🔥 Stump Mic#INDvsAUSTest #RishabhPant #INDvAUS #Stumpmic #TestofChampions #Siraj @RishabhPant17 @BCCI Rishabh pant making test cricket more fun to watch pic.twitter.com/LhHU4T2uWX
— Pawan Choudhary 🥀 (@PawanKumarXD) January 18, 2021
10. Mohammad Yousuf took his time recovering from an injury that, in all honesty, didn’t appear to be that severe. Trying not to make it too obvious but also not want to pay match fees for the sluggish over-rate, Ganguly said to Dhoni,
“Tu time note karle, baad mein jab match referee mera paisa kaatega toh main unhein tere pas bhej dunga.”
11. If we wanted to, we could write a separate article about Dhoni’s remarks from behind the stumps. What should I do? He’s a humorous guy.
In one of his matches, he told to Sreesanth,
“Teri girlfriend nahin hai udhar, idhar aaja thoda.”
And my favourite one, when he instructs Suresh Raina in a humourous way, saying,
“Jaag ke zara. Volleyball ki tarah khada hua hai beech mein.”
12. Tim Paine, who famously referred to Rishabh Pant as a “babysitter,” attempts to speak with everybody he can find from the opposition (which rarely works in his favour). He chose to sledge R. Ashwin during India’s 2020-2021 tour to Australia, and this is how the chat went:
Tim Paine: I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba Ash I’ll tell you what, woo hoo.
Ravichandran Ashwin: Just like we want to get you to India that will be your last series.
Tim Paine: Maybe. Are you a selector here as well?
Ravichandran Ashwin: At least my teammates like me, d**khead.
Ashwin most likely had the last laugh. Don’t we all know what happened in Gabba?
Paine- Can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash
Ashwin- Just like i Can’t wait to get you to India, it’ll be your last series😂😂😂
Ye hai New India 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/ulY8JcXQCO
— Ashutosh Vashishtha (@iashutosh23) January 11, 2021
13. In the same series, Rishabh Pant decided to aggravate Pat Cummins by repeatedly encouraging him to play better by saying,
Come on Pat…not it’s easy to survive here.
Rishabh Pant sledging Pat Cummins. 😂🤣😂 #INDvAUS #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/VjU7WddGi5
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) December 10, 2018
Commentators had to pause the commentary because this on-crease conversation was so hilarious.