The commentary panel for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has been selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, the apex Indian board has finalised seven Indian commentators for the IPL – Sunil Gavaskar, Anjum Chopra, Harsha Bhogle, Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar, Murali Kartik and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.
However, in a surprising move, BCCI did not include Sanjay Manjrekar’s name in the list. The cricketer-turned-commentator gave a written apology not once but twice to the Indian board. Still, he was ignored for the 13th season of the lucrative league.
Earlier, Manjrekar was fired by BCCI. He was criticised for calling India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a ‘bits and pieces’ player during the 2019 World Cup.
Further, in the pink-ball Test between India and Bangladesh, Manjrekar was lambasted after he questioned Harsha Bhogle’s credentials on air for not playing first-class cricket.
After being sacked, Manjrekar had written: “I have always considered commentary as a great privilege, but never an entitlement. It is up to my employers whether they choose to have me or not & I will always respect that. Maybe BCCI has not been happy with my performance of late. I accept that as a professional.”
Commentators will be divided into three panels
The report further mentioned that BCCI is planning to split the group of seven commentators into three panels, one for each of the three venues. They will be stationed in two biosecure bubbles, one in Abu Dhabi and another in Dubai.
The UAE government has cut down the quarantine period from 14 days to 7 days. This has ensured that Dasgupta and Kartik, who were supposed to leave India on September 4, will now fly to the Gulf nation along with five other commentators on September 10.
The IPL 2020 will begin from September 19, and it is speculated that Abu Dhabi will host 21 matches, while 14 games will be played in Sharjah.