Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is back to commentary as his voice will be heard during the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The official broadcaster of the cash-rich league, Star Sports, has signed Sidhu as he will return to do commentary much to the delight of the fans after a long gap.
It certainly has been a while since Sidhu had a mic in his hand but the man is certainly looking forward to his stint and as usual was extremely excited. For the unversed, IPL is set to get underway on March 22 with the opening game to be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
"Boss, cricket is my first love. If your hobby becomes your profession there is nothing better than that. A duckling would never forget how to swim, I will take to commentary like a fish takes to water," Sidhu told PTI. The 60-year-old quit politics and then didn't have a very good time in his personal life. But he is now excited to be back doing what he loves and will be making a comeback.
"Secret of my life is that is I switch on and switch off. It was difficult for me to switch off from politics but then the age of miracles has not passed. The difficult is done at once, the impossible takes a little while longer. The mental fortitude will sail me through any situation now. In cricket, I have made 20 odd comebacks, this is my first comeback to commentary. I was in the swing of things from 1999 to 2014-15 (commentary). A gem cannot be polished without friction nor a man perfected without trials," Sidhu added.
Meanwhile, one of India's aggressive openers of his time, Sidhu also felt that the IPL will set the tone for the World Cup and gave his thoughts on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who are expected to feature in the mega event, probably for one last time together. "The IPL will set the tone for the World Cup. There is no other cricket happening. The eyes of the world are on IPL. This is where you can snatch a berth for the T20 World Cup, not only Indians, even the foreign players.
"They (Kohli and Rohit) will be needed there. These are giants of cricketing world. Form is like the morning dew, it can elude you but class of these people has stamp of authority. I would rate Kohli as the greatest Indian batsmen for the simple reason, his fitness, he is getting fitter with age like old wine does. Technically very sound and he has the uncanny knack of adapting to all three formats, same goes for Rohit," he further added.
