"Air hostess ko Hello bolkar aai gend" - 5 iconic Navjot Singh Sidhu moments on commentary
Navjot Singh Sidhu will return to the commentary box after a long hiatus on Friday (March 22) evening for the IPL 2024 match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The official TV broadcaster of IPL 2024 in India, Star Sports announced that Sidhu will be a part of their commentary panel this season.
Sidhu was one of the most popular cricket experts during the initial IPL seasons. He played a big role in increasing Hindi commentary's popularity. His 'Shayari' skills are unmatched, and even Star Sports welcomed him back to the commentary box with the following caption:
"A wise man once said, "Hope is the biggest ‘tope’". And this wise man, the great @sherryontopp himself, has joined our Incredible StarCast! Don't miss his incredible commentary (and gajab one-liners) in #IPLOnStar - STARTS MAR 22, 6:30 PM onwards, LIVE on Star Sports Network!"
The post has received positive comments from the fans. Even Star Sports has pinned the post above on their X profile. Speaking of Navjot Singh Sidhu's return to the commentary box, here's a look back at his top five iconic moments on the mic.
#1 How Navjot Singh Sidhu would describe a gigantic 6
Sidhu was quite popular for hitting sixes during his time as an active cricketer. After retirement, he gained popularity for his unique way of describing the towering maximums. He would often use the full quote:
"Air hostess ko Hello bolkar aai gend." (The ball went so high it would have said Hello to the air hostess).
#2 Navjot Singh Sidhu's funny way of describing a batting collapse
A batting collapse is a rare occasion in cricket. It means that the batting team loses lots of wickets without adding too many runs to the total. The batters come and go without contributing much. Describing a batting collapse during a game, Sidhu would say:
"They are like bicycles in the cycle stand, if one falls down, the complete row will be down."
#3 Navjot Singh Sidhu's unique analogy to sum up an impossible task
When tailenders would have the task to score big runs, Sidhu would use an analogy of aunt and uncle to describe the situation. He would say if his aunt would have a mustache, wouldn't he call him uncle? He used the analogy to highlight that the tailenders were not specialist batters for a reason.
"Agar Meri Chachi ke Muche hoti to ma unhe Chacha Kahta." (If my aunt had a mustache, wouldn't I call him uncle?)
#4 "A pitch is like a wife" - Navjot Singh Sidhu
Pitch plays an important role in cricket matches. The team management looks at the nature of the wicket before deciding their strategies and playing XIs. However, sometimes it is quite difficult to predict how a pitch would behave. To describe such a situation, Sidhu would say:
"A pitch is like a wife. You never know how it's going to turn out."
#5 Sidhu's way of describing a bowled dismissal through bat and pad
Getting bowled is an embarrassing moment for any batter, and losing the stumps after the ball goes through the bat and pad is even more embarrassing. When a batter would get out in such a fashion, Sidhu would say on air:
"The gap between bat and pad is so much that I would have driven a car through it."
Quite a few fans are looking forward to Sidhu's return to commentary. It will be interesting to see if he can entertain the fans the way he did in the past.