A Shaz and Waz show

LUNCH WITH BS/Ravi Shastri & Wasim Akram

Mandira Bedi started it, but this duo was responsible for the sexing up of cricket. Shaz and Waz.

The two are as different as cheese and chalk. While Shaz (Ravi Shastri) has eyes that could burn holes in wood, Waz (Wasim Akram) has a permanent twinkle in his eyes and finds it difficult to control his smile.

Shaz is guarded in his comments; Waz pulls no punches and freely air his opinions about his former teammates "" "he is an under-achiever", "that fellow is a loose cannon".

Waz looks content posing for photographs with Delhi's beautiful people; Shaz has all the trappings of a dead-serious businessman. Yet, while Waz has signed on with a celebrity management company called Showdiff, it turns out that Shaz owns the company.

But they have one thing in common "" an electrifying presence. As I waited for them at the lobby of The Oberoi, Shaz was the first to arrive, dressed in cotton trousers and a thin brown T-shirt; the crew cut was only three days old.

He had arrived the night before from Singapore, where he is anchoring special programmes on the India-Pakistan cricket series. Minutes later, Waz joined us wearing denims, a white collarless T-shirt and a white cap.

The lull in the conversations around the lobby was palpable. Before I could be held responsible for bringing the hotel to a standstill, I ushered my two guests towards La Rochelle, the restaurant specialising in French cuisine.

Waz had been in Delhi for a few days, having arrived from Lahore via Dubai with wife and two kids in tow. He had wanted to go to Mumbai but his visa said Delhi. He realised this mistake just before boarding a flight to Mumbai at Dubai.

"I had to wait for f...ing eight hours," he said as the 20-something attendant held a chair for him. "Sorry," Waz told her, his trademark smile in place. "Don't worry, she didn't mind," Shaz added. The Shaz and Waz show was rolling.

Shaz coined his name himself. On December 31 last year, he recorded a message on the telephone in his Sydney hotel room: "Hi, this is Shaz. Can't take your call."

Somebody from ESPN Star Sports called and rhymed Shaz with Waz, a name given to Akram by Imran Khan. Over the next few hours, the ESPN Star Sports programming team put together the concept for the Shaz and Waz show. Two days later, it was on air.

"It took me some time, but Shaz had 10 years' experience in it," Waz disclosed. "Experience of getting a "feel" of things?" I enquired. Shaz got the point first. "Usme to 25 saal ka experience hai," he said, his face breaking into a broad grin. Waz chuckled.

Waz, it turned out, had just eaten a Thai meal since he had had to take his first insulin shot of the day. But Shaz was like Amitabh Bachchan of the 1970s "" a hungry young man.

So while Waz ordered lemon tea and a pack of cigarettes for himself, Shaz and I did a recce of the buffet. The bhekti at La Rochelle is worth taking a dip in the Hooghly for, I advised Shaz. Heeding my suggestion, he helped himself to the fish. I filled my plate with salad.

Back at the table, I asked if the two also got to select the girls for the show. They didn't, but Waz grinned and added that they were always willing to pitch in. But do they help the crew select the girls by putting their binoculars to good use?

"That Alan Wilkins does. He can look through the binoculars and do the commentary at the same time," Waz said. "He watches the whole game through binoculars?" I asked curiously. "Game and other things," Waz replied.

Shaz now tried to convince me that their's was a serious show. "Viewership ratings would fall during teatime. This was one way of lifting it," he said.

Something like this was first done by Sony Entertainment Television when it brought Mandira Bedi to the commentary box in South Africa last year.

"So you are ESPN Star Sports' answer to Bedi and her unconventional blouses," I prodded. Shaz twitched his shoulders, while Waz asked innocently: "What is unconventional?" I let the question pass.

By now, it was clear that there was tremendous off-screen chemistry too, between Shaz and Waz. They are more than just co-hosts of a show "" the two have been close friends for almost two decades.

More importantly, they share a healthy respect for each other's knowledge of the game. Shaz was still in splits over Waz's advice to Ganguly after the final one-day game with Pakistan. "At your age, you shouldn't dive. After seeing you dive, it seemed you hadn't dived but someone had pushed you."

Both are fitness freaks, although Waz is more regular with exercise. He starts his day at nine with a two-hour workout. Waz got Shaz to become a regular at the gym during the India-Australia series and is now trying to get him to play golf regularly as well.

I had to divert the subject quickly, before they asked me about my fitness routine. What do I tell them? Old women with umbrellas overtake me during my morning walk? Let secrets be secrets.

I asked the duo about the greatest cricketing moment they had shared. In one voice, they said it was the tied test between India and Pakistan at Bangalore in 1987. It was the last ball of the match and Pakistan needed two runs to win.

In fact, one run would have been enough "" it would have tied the score but Pakistan would have won because it had lost one wicket less than India.

Captain Imran Khan was gesticulating wildly at Abdul Qadir, the batsman, to go for only one run. Qadir attempted the second run but a throw from Azharuddin's golden arm got him run out. The test was tied. Back in the pavilion, Miandad and Shaz were at each other's throats.

"I was just a kid and didn't know what was going on," Waz said. It was not once but thrice during our lunch that Waz (38) made it clear he was younger than Shaz (42). "Tu to hamesha bachcha hi rahega," Shaz finally retaliated.

I next asked Waz to unravel the biggest mystery of modern cricket: how did Inzamam manage to get the bat with which he almost battered a spectator in Canada?

"He asked the 12th man to get it. I later told that fellow that he should have used his brains: why would somebody from the fielding side require a bat?" Waz explained.

Incidentally, Waz never played soccer with Inzamam. "He just sees the goal and will demolish anything in between. He slapped one of the players during a soccer match in South Africa last year," he added.

Waz has often found himself in the midst of controversy. The last one was when he was reported to have become the coach for Indian bowlers. Before that was his endorsement of a whisky brand in India.

The list is long and the charges hurled at him interesting. "I get bored if there are no controversies. Half my money is spent on lawyers," Waz laughed it off.

The two are as busy as they were during their cricketing days and, perhaps, making better money too. Shaz was off to Singapore the next day, while Waz was slated to join him a week later. Before that, Waz was to participate in a diabetes awareness programme in Pakistan "" something he does regularly.

Our lunch over, Shaz declined coffee, while Waz ordered another cup of lemon tea. Once outside, Waz spotted Zaheer Abbas in another restaurant, screamed "Oye, Zed" and was off to meet him. Shaz was curious to know when this piece would get printed. After a firm handshake, he was gone too.