The job of a commentator is to enhance the watching experience of viewers. Be it through statistics or certain nuances of the game which the layman is unaware of.
Each cricket commentator has his own style. Someone like a Harsha Bhogle is poetic. Danny Morrison engages the audience through humour. Aakash Chopra is known for his One-liners in Hindi.
Post their playing days, many IPL cricketers have taken the route of commentary and broadcasting. Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Parthiv Patel etc. are some examples.
In this article, we take a look at 3 players who went unsold in IPL 2022 auctions and are now working as commentators:
#3 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina is the 4th highest run-scorer in the history of IPL. He has scored 5528 runs at an average of 32.51 and Strike Rate 136.73. He is the All-Time Leading run getter for Chennai Super Kings. Raina led CSK in the IPL for 5 games. He is known as ‘Mr. IPL’ for his consistency in the league.
Raina registered himself for the IPL 2022 auctions at a base price of 2 crores. Surprisingly, he did not receive any bids from the 10 franchises. He has been donning the commentator’s hat in the ongoing IPL 2022 season.
Raina is a part of the Hindi Commentary Panel. He has had many funny moments so far with co-commentators like Aakash Chopra, Irfan Pathan, Jatin Sapru etc. Fans are liking the UP slangs like ‘Bhaukaal’ (Swag) from his side.
#IPL2022 Commentary Panel of commentators across 9 languages
• Ravi Shastri will make a comeback to commentary
• Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, Dhawal Kulkarni & Harbhajan Singh are all set to make their debut
(Via PTI) #TATAIPL2022 #CricketTwitter
— Niche Sports (@Niche_Sports) March 23, 2022
#2 Dhawal Kulkarni
From on field Cricket Chemistry to off field Commentary !!
Thank you for the support @IrfanPathan @ImRaina @jatinsapru @cricketaakash @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/9hm13XUtOP
— Dhawal Kulkarni (@dhawal_kulkarni) March 28, 2022
Dhawal Kulkarni is one of the most under-rated IPL players. He has played 92 IPL matches and picked 86 wickets at a Strike Rate of 20.78. Kulkarni has represented 3 franchises- Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions.
Kulkarni registered himself for the IPL 2022 auctions at a base price of 75 Lakhs. Unfortunately, he went unsold. Kulkarni is a part of Hindi and Marathi commentary team of Star Sports for IPL 2022.
#1 Piyush Chawla
@IPL #TataIpl We Have One More Team Apart From Big 10 Teams Team @StarSportsIndia Who Takes Players Who Didn't Get Auctioned as a Commentrators #PiyushChawla #harbhajansingh #DhavalKulkarni pic.twitter.com/nVfkjLgiUK
— Rikin Shah (@MumbaiEnjoy) April 2, 2022
Piyush Chawla is the 4th highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL. He has picked 157 wickets at an economy of 7.88 and Strike Rate of 20.8.
Chawla registered himself for the IPL 2022 auctions at a base price of 1 crore. However, he went unsold. It could be because Chawla hasn’t been a regular in the Playing XIs for the past two years.
He only played 1 game last season and 7 games in IPL 2020. He is now a part of Hindi Commentary panel for IPL 2022.
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