Cashing in on the craze called the Indian Premier League (IPL), the second episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show brought star cricketers Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer to the crease. And yet, instead of hitting it out of the park, the Netflix show did the unthinkable in IPL season: it played out a dot ball (yawn!).

Cricketers at the crease

Rohit Sharma, Team India captain and Mumbai Indians superstar, along with Shreyas Iyer, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, engaged in banter with Kapil Sharma and Co., and participated in playful activities like auditioning to be cheerleaders.

However, with innuendos and double entendres tossed up like no-balls and wides, it was all unfunny at best and embarrassing at worst, especially with Rohit’s wife Ritika in the audience.

Sunil Grover’s crossdressing

Sunil Grover returned for the second episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show first as ‘engineer’ Chumbak and then as ‘nakli’ Kapil Dev. He brought on some laughs, especially as Kapil Dev the commentator and bowler, but bowled the eeeewwww moment of the show when, as Chumbak, he undressed to transform into a cheerleader, short skirt, crop top and all.

Grover’s crossdressing is now grating. How tone-deaf can a Netflix show possibly be? With each cross-dessing gag, body shaming nag and gender-stereotyping wag, Kapil Sharma’s not-so-merry (wo)men overstep the line.

Krishna Abhishek's portrayal of an air hostess and forced banter with Kiku Sharda is been-there-seen-that fare.

Drab talk show segment

While the talk show format usually thrives on guests sharing personal anecdotes, the star batsmen on the show were hardly given the chance to step out. Rohit did, however, display his trademark timing with a candid revelation about the emotional impact of losing the 2023 World Cup final, and also by holding forth on his ‘cussed’ stump-mic shenanigans (termed ‘pravachan’ by Kapil Sharma!).

Kapil's imitation of Navjot Singh Sidhu injected brief moments of LOL into an otherwise lacklustre affair.

Same stale gags

The only discernible change on this Kapil Sharma show is the redesigned set and the shift to a streaming platform from television. Everything else is the same — from the rehashed husband-wife jokes to the customary teasing of Archana Puran Singh and her fat paycheck. The latest episode felt like a regurgitated rendition of a fun show long past its expiry date.

One can only hope that the upcoming episode — featuring Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra and Imtiaz Ali — will sprinkle some ‘Chamkila’ on what has otherwise been a colourless canvas.