Full list of commentators across languages for 2023 World Cup ft. Gautam Gambhir & Ravi Shastri
Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, introduced a star-studded cast of commentators across languages for the sport's most prestigious event. The panel, referred to as 'Starcast' for 'Mission World Cup', features a host of former World Cup winners from across the globe.
To celebrate India's incredible linguistic diversity, all the World Cup matches will be accessible in nine languages across the Star Sports network. The regional languages also boast a few luminaries from the non-cricketing spectrum, with a few others apart from the below-listed names in the mix.
Here is the complete list of commentators across various languages catering to the diverse fans of the nation:
English
Eoin Morgan, Shane Watson, Aaron Finch, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Waqar Younis, Dale Steyn, Shane Bond, Shaun Pollock, Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Harsha Bhogle, Mark Nicholas, Ian Bishop, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Sanjay Manjrekar, Deep Dasgupta, Simon Doull, Nasser Hussain, Ramiz Raja, Michael Atherton, Dirk Nannes, Lisa Sthalekar, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Kaif, Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raj.
Hindi
Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, K Srikanth, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, S Sreesanth, MSK Prasad, Sandeep Patil, Sunil Joshi and Sanjay Bangar.
Tamil
S. Badrinath, Murali Vijay, Yomahesh Vijayakumar, Russel Arnold, Hemang Badani, S Ramesh, and RJ Balaji (actor).
Telugu
Venugopal Rao, T Suman, Ashish Reddy and Kalyan Krishna.
Kanada
Vinay Kumar, Gundappa Viswanath, Vijay Bharadwaj, Bharath Chipli, Pavan Deshpande, and Akhil Balachandra.
Gujarati
Manan Desai, Akash Trivedi, Deep Vaidya and Nayan Mongia.
Marathi
Amol Muzumdar, Lalchand Rajput, and Pravin Tambe.
Malayalam
Tinu Yohannan and Raiphi Gomez.
Bengali
A Jhunjhunwala and Ashoke Dinda.
The 2023 World Cup kicks off with a rematch of the 2019 final between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5. Following 45 games between the ten teams in the round-robin stage, the top four teams will advance to the sem-final, with the grand finale in Ahmedabad on November 19.
"An unmatched excitement when it comes to the ICC World Cup" - Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian batter and World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir expressed his excitement about being part of the commentary panel for the 2023 World Cup.
The left-hander top-scored for India with 97 in the final of the 2011 World Cup against Sri Lanka to help the side clinch their second title.
"There's an unmatched excitement when it comes to the ICC World Cup and being part of the 'Starcast' lets me share that excitement with fans across India. From nail-biting moments to unforgettable victories, we're here to capture and celebrate every aspect of the marquee tournament," said Gambhir.
Gambhir's 2011 World Cup-winning teammate Harbhajan Singh echoed similar sentiments and was delighted to be part of the commentary panel to call the World Cup.
"The World Cup holds a special place in every fan's heart and I'm delighted to be part of the 'Starcast' for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Get ready for some intense cricketing action, expert analysis, and a whole lot of passion only on Star Sports Network Let's make this World Cup a memory to cherish," said Harbhajan.
Another former World champion from India, Irfan Pathan, was honored to be part of the list of commentators to voice his opinion during the showpiece event.
“Being part of the ‘Starcast’ for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is an honor. The World Cup is where dreams are made, and rewritten. I'm excited to bring you the stories, the emotions, and the cricketing brilliance on the Star Sports Network. Let's embark on this thrilling journey together," said Pathan.
The trio of Gambhir, Harbhajan and Pathan were integral parts of India's title-winning run in the 2007 T20 World Cup, with the left-arm pacer emerging as the Player of the Match in the grand finale against Pakistan.
Team India will kick off their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.