ChatGPT is the talk of the town. It is the latest sensation in the AI world, it already has spawned a rival and everyone on the internet seems to have interacted with ChatGPT in some form or the other!

Totally giving into my FOMO, I decided to check in with this personified AI and get its views on some of the most sought after cricketing topics of recent times.

But ChatGPT seems to have a degree in diplomacy. It could be cricket’s ultimate diplomat. Media managers should employ it as a training module for elite cricketers on how to answer questions on the most burning topics in a non-controversial manner.

I tried all sorts of approaches to see if it could give an answer which will make the cricket fan in me all riled up as cricket journalists often do with some of their polarizing opinions (pitch doctoring or mankading morality, etc.) but it was having none of that.

I started off with a loosener – “Who is Sachin Tendulkar?”

The reply was gracious and generalized.

The next question had a bit more spin, asking “Why is he compared with Bradman?”

ChatGPT played this with a straight bat bestowing platitudes on both.

Another loosener followed – “What is the chant Indian fans make when they see Sachin in the ground?”

This was met with an exquisite cover drive to the boundary.

Then came the googly - “Who is better Tendulkar or Kohli?”

Yup, not Bradman. Tendulkar or Kohli?

Didn’t make an iota of difference to it. It read the delivery of the hand and played it with the front face of bat. Totally, refused to take any stand that could add further fodder to the feud between two sets of fans and generations of cricket lovers.

I decided to keep the Bradman vs Tendulkar discussion for the end and moved on to more juicier topics which has dominated recent cricketing discourse.

An attempted yorker became an over-the-waist full toss which was dispatched for a six in disdain when I asked, “What is a doctored pitch?”

Made me pay for the fact that I didn’t specify cricket and it enlightened me on how ‘doctored pitch’ is a form of cheating in baseball. The description sounds eerily like ball tampering in cricket. It’s good to see cheating and controversies happen in other sports as well!

Not to be outdone, I followed up the next delivery on the pitch – “What about in cricket?”

The answer was intelligent and precise. It refused to use the word cheating but said it could be deemed unfair and then used my personal favourite and the most polarizing cricket jargon, ‘Spirit of the Game’.

This glorious, invisible line had now found its way to the AI world as well!

Game on! Pumped up my next delivery was a Glenn McGrath styled pitch perfect delivery in the channel just outside the offstump with the intention to draw a thick outside edge – “What is the spirit of cricket?”

I certainly didn’t expect ChatGPT to cover the line of off stump and give it a thumping straight drive for a boundary.

Utterly frustrated now, I delivered a sharp bouncer on the hemlet - “What is Manakading?”

To my satisfaction, it appeared to be a bit startled. Looks like ChatGPT would love to steal a few inches from the non-strikers end.

It did try to give a balanced perspective, but it tended towards the fact that many people consider it ‘unfair’ or ‘cheating’ or so I thought. Maybe it was my own bias that led to this interpretation.

I followed this up by adding more spice into another bouncer by adding my own bias towards the fact that many in the English Press and players criticize Mankading and questioned ChatGPT about this stigma despite it being legal.

It was having none of that. ChatGPT was back to its diplomatic best and pulled this short delivery for a boundary on the onside!

However, like an obstinate fast bowler who felt aggrieved, I delivered another nasty bouncer, “Surely the laws of the game are paramount and if its legal, how can Manakading be stigmatized this way”

The ball reared of short length and climbed up viciously, but ChatGPT ducked quite comfortably letting the ball pass on to the wicketkeeper. To add insult, this was deemed a no ball.

Tired after this spell of bowling, I bowled a length ball on ChatGPT’s pads – “Should it still be called Manakading? I have heard some people have issues with this nomenclature.”

Again, ChatGPT decided not to give any conclusive opinion on this matter.

I decided to bowl one final over of spin to throw it off course and ask the burning question of the day – “Was the recently concluded Nagpur test match pitch between India and Australia doctored?”

ChatGPT just laughed on my face and said something akin to ‘No Comments’.

Infuriated and furious, I responded with one final sharp flipper – “Who is better? Tendulkar or Bradman?”

Not missing a beat, it played the most perfect textbook forward defence.

I called it a day. ChatGPT had outsmarted the bowler in me.