New Delhi, March 20
A galaxy of superstars are lined up as expert commentators for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 which gets underway on March 22. On Wednesday host broadcaster JioCinema unveiled new additions to their line-up for the 17th edition of the tournament.
The 17th season of the IPL will be available in 12 languages, English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, with Haryanvi making its debut.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag will headline the newly introduced Haryanvi language presentation. Meanwhile, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja will make his debut as a Gujarati language expert.
Former Australia cricketer Shane Watson and former New Zealand coach and Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore Mike Hesson, Sehwag, and Jadeja will also give the fans inside access to the dressing rooms of the IPL franchisees.
After playing for the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab, Sehwag took on a mentor's role with the Punjab franchise. On the other hand, the player of the match in the 2012 IPL Final, Manvinder Bisla, will also join Sehwag in the Haryanvi feed.
After winning IPL titles with the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, Watson continues his journey in the IPL. He won Player of the Tournament in the inaugural season with the Royals while his match-winning 117* for CSK in the 2018 Final against Sunrisers Hyderabad has gone down as one of the best knocks ever in the IPL.
Mike Hesson, one of the sharpest minds in cricket, will extend his journey with the IPL as an expert on-air. After having coached Kings XI Punjab, and worked as a director of cricket operations with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Kiwi pro will sit alongside some of the iconic players he coached in the IPL, including Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers.
"The response we got for our deep and wide presentation of the TATA IPL 2023 from our viewers, advertisers, and cricket fanatics was heartening and we are doubling down on our innovations and initiatives for TATA IPL 2024. This season we continue to elevate the experience with bigger names, deeper engagement with core, casual and curious fans through unique propositions like Hero Cam, Viral Weekends and the introduction of Haryanvi feed headlined by the iconic Virender Sehwag," said Viacom18 Sports Head of Content Siddharth Sharma, was quoted as saying in a press release by JioCinema.
The 17th season of the IPL will start on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at their home arena--MA Chidambaram Stadium.