It would be an understatement to say that Indian fans have a quite a lot of options to pick from as far as commentary panels for India’s tour of West Indies 2023 is concerned. Having begun today with the first of a two-match Test series, there are a lot of Test commentators primarily because of the fact the match is being televised and live streamed in multiple languages in the country.
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First things first, the biggest highlight among people calling this series is veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma. Certainly not retired from any format, Sharma has forayed into a whole new avenue at a time when the chief selectors have appeared to move on from him.
Streaming platform Jio Cinema, which had arranged for more than 100 commentators for Indian Premier League 2023, has signed Sharma for a commentary stint. It will be interesting to see if the 34-year old player would be calling the limited-overs leg of this tour or not. Much like Sharma, all other cricketers-turned-commentators working for Jio Cinema are calling the match in Hindi.
A primary reason behind the same is that all the English commentators are the same who are working for host broadcaster ESPN Caribbean. In what is like a global feed also being used by Doordarshan Sports in India, it comprises five people who have represented West Indies at the highest level.
As is the case with Jio, DD Sports also have a Hindi commentary panel of its own. Former India spinner Maninder Singh has also been employed as an analyst by the state-owned network. Additionally, journalist Preeti Dahiya is hosting “Fourth Umpire” for DD on Day 1. That said, fans can expect different anchors as the tour progresses.
IND vs WI Test Commentators On DD Sports
English – Shakera Selman, Ian Bishop, Sir Curtly Ambrose, Samuel Badree, Darren Ganga, Raunak Kapoor.
Hindi – Manoj Sharma, Dharmendra Singh, Praveen Kumar Soni, Manoj Dutt.
Jio Cinema India vs West Indies Commentators
Hindi – Aakash Chopra, Ishant Sharma, Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan, Abhinav Mukund, Saba Karim.
