Harbhajan signed as commentator by SKY for england tour.

[LORD_analyst]

The star Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will be seen taking up a new role during the upcoming series between India and England in July. The cricketer is currently plying his trade in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) while playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has played both the matches so far for the team and has fared decently well. However, he is set to join the commentary panel of Sky Sports during the India’s tour of England in the upcoming summer.

Virat Kohli and his men are scheduled to visit England to play 3 T20 Internationals, 3 ODIs and five Test matches. Their tour will commence on July 1 with the shorter forms of cricket set to be played first which will then be followed by 5-match Test series.

 

Akram and Sangakkara will also join

According to the reports in Independent.co.uk, Harbhajan Singh has signed as an expert commentator by the England and Wales Cricket Board broadcast rights holder. The likes of Wasim Akram and Kumar Sangakkara are also set to join the panel given that Pakistan will also tour the country in the last week of May for a two-match series in the longest format of the game. Interestingly, the former Sri Lankan cricketer will start his new innings as a commentator as he was playing the first-class all this while even after retiring from the international cricket.

 

The commentary panel of Sky Sports will also include David Gower, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Ian Botham, Michael Holding and Rob Key. As of now, Shane Warne is not the part of the expert panel and it is being expected that Sky Sports will bring him for the prestigious Ashes next year in 2019.

Even Harbhajan Singh has been appearing on news channel to analyse the game off late and commentary should be new to him. Though his fans will be excited to see him in a new role.

[velu]

soemtime back nehraji said bhajji is one of the funniest guys in the team ..

anywya snaga  

[Gollum]

Always found Bhajji a bit too bitter for my liking and his English accent is difficult to understand (just like Sanga but that is the other extreme ). A few good ones but Holding and Botham OMG. Either it will be torture or I will really enjoy the summer watching them whine, grovel and discuss everything under the sun except cricket. Can't wait for real cricket to begin .

[kosingh]

I look forward to Bhajji saying some completely inappropriate things in commentary!

[sandeep]

Bhajji's a good guy but don't think he's anywhere near the best choice for commentary.   Its almost as if the pommies intentionally selected a guy who's not well suited for it, nor has the ideal language skills.  

 

So many choices available for commentary if they wanted an Indian voice, or even an ex-player - Wouldn't Zaheer Khan be well-suited for it?  He's played a lot in England - including county cricket, and was part of a winning touring test unit as well.  Wonder what the reason is for opting for Harbhajan.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by sandeep

[Vilander]

2 hours ago, sandeep said:

Wouldn't Zaheer Khan be well-suited for it? 

Zak has acceptable spoken English, but is too much of a good guy - good analyst too. But he is not a native speaker level guy, cant crack jokes and be relaxed based on what is seen.

I think they are thinking Bhaji will be able to be funny, but remains to be seen if he is able to be funny in English.

[Number]

May be Sky catering to Brit Punjabi market.

Lets see how Aussies react to this.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Number

[Lannister]

lol.. Harbhajan Singh the joker. Hope he doesn't go on a slapping spree and show his manliness. 

[Lala]

I bet he would slap nassar or bumblee during mtaches  

[LORD_analyst]

10 hours ago, sandeep said:

Bhajji's a good guy but don't think he's anywhere near the best choice for commentary.   Its almost as if the pommies intentionally selected a guy who's not well suited for it, nor has the ideal language skills.  

 

So many choices available for commentary if they wanted an Indian voice, or even an ex-player - Wouldn't Zaheer Khan be well-suited for it?  He's played a lot in England - including county cricket, and was part of a winning touring test unit as well.  Wonder what the reason is for opting for Harbhajan.

 

 

 

 

lmao...his oratory skills will be tested, plus his cricketing knowledge will be under scanner....stupid decision, zaheer or ganguly should have been appointed.

[Sachinism]

13 hours ago, kosingh said:

I look forward to Bhajji saying some completely inappropriate things in commentary!

Only good thing about this. Though I also expect some real cringe.

[Khota]

Bhajji is a pretty shrewd cricketer. He has a very analytical mind and good feeling for the game. What is the big deal if his english speaking skills are not up to par. As long as can can get the main points across he will be fine.

[asterix]

Bhajji like visiting UK. He’s popular too here... Good opportunity for him...

[Moochad]

Is this his first time doing commentary?

[sandeep]

3 hours ago, Khota said:

Bhajji is a pretty shrewd cricketer. He has a very analytical mind and good feeling for the game. What is the big deal if his english speaking skills are not up to par. As long as can can get the main points across he will be fine.

Problem is how he will be perceived by the audience.  Let's be honest - lack of fluency and command on language makes it difficult to get one's thought across.  And Bhajji is basically a rookie in terms of commentating as well.  

 

If I had to guess, Bhajji probably offered very low quote compared to some of the other options, because it would be a good learning experience for him, that's why SKY went with him..

[Bigg Brother]

Agarkar is good..Why He isnt with any channel? All I have seen till now is him debating on Cricinfo..

Edited May 24, 2018 by Bigg Brother

[Rightarmfast]

/\ +1. I think Agarkar is a great choice. But I think he is not so social and not so well connected. 

 

Bhajji is going to be a disaster. Having Bhajji as an english commentator is like asking your local panipuri guy to prepare pasta in a top italian restaurant.

[LORD_analyst]

37 minutes ago, Rightarmfast said:

/\ +1. I think Agarkar is a great choice. But I think he is not so social and not so well connected. 

 

Bhajji is going to be a disaster. Having Bhajji as an english commentator is like asking your local panipuri guy to prepare pasta in a top italian restaurant.

waiting to see his punjabi english...

[sarcastic]

4 hours ago, Bigg Brother said:

Agarkar is good..Why He isnt with any channel? All I have seen till now is him debating on Cricinfo..

 

4 hours ago, Rightarmfast said:

/\ +1. I think Agarkar is a great choice. But I think he is not so social and not so well connected. 

 

Bhajji is going to be a disaster. Having Bhajji as an english commentator is like asking your local panipuri guy to prepare pasta in a top italian restaurant.

Agarkar is probably good with his cricketing analysis but I feel an air of "You know what, is n't it obvious>" whenever he speaks. Initially, I used to think that he is doing for a specific point he is making.

When I look at the Cricinfo IPL videos, he always seem to talk like that.... He says something and suddenly.... you see his eyes going up and he starts to speak "But it has always been ....".  I m not a great fan of his commentary and don't think he will gel with others in a jovial and relaxed manner that is expected in a test match comm box. 

 

Having said this, Bhajji might be worse choice... time will tell. 

[raki05]

On 5/24/2018 at 4:13 AM, Vilander said:

Zak has acceptable spoken English, but is too much of a good guy - good analyst too. But he is not a native speaker level guy, cant crack jokes and be relaxed based on what is seen.

I think they are thinking Bhaji will be able to be funny, but remains to be seen if he is able to be funny in English.

Yes, Bhajji English is indeed funny with that fake call center accent.