The inaugural edition of International League T20 (ILT20) is all set to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from January 13-February 12 next year.
For the brand-new league, the organizers have lined up a star-studded commentary panel, which includes prominent names like Ian Bishop, Simon Doull, and David Lloyd.
They will be joined by elite former cricketers like David Gower, Wasim Akram, Mohammad Azharuddin, Harbhajan Singh, Waqar Younis, and Niall O’ Brien.
The panel also features some of the most popular commentators and experts in the Indian subcontinent – Russel Arnold, Rohan Gavaskar, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Saba Karim, Nikhil Chopra, Vivek Razdan, WV Raman, S Sriram, and Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan.
Former India skipper Anjum Chopra and renowned sports broadcaster Natalie Germanos will be two female commentators on the panel, while the presenters include popular names like Sanjana Ganesan, Laura McGoldrick, Alex Jordan, Sastika Rajendran, Sagarika Chhetri and Sameena Anwar.
Commentary will be available in English, Hindi and Tamil languages.
Expressing his excitement about commentating at the ILT20, Harbhajan Singh said: “The UAE has grown tremendously as a cricket nation in the past few years and the nation will have another feather in the cap with the start of the DP World ILT20. I am certain that the power-packed players will produce electrifying performances and commentating on them will be a great experience."
On the other hand, former West Indian pacer Ian Bishop said, “I am really excited to be commentating at the first season of the DP World ILT20. Some of the most prominent T20 stars will be showing their talent across the three iconic UAE venues and I cannot wait to describe the action. The UAE has already hosted some of the biggest cricket tournaments and the country will be treated with another fantastic competition which will be their very own."
Pakistan fast bowling legend Wasim Akram also spoke about being a part of the commentary panel, “A new T20 league always creates excitement and I am eagerly looking forward to being a part of it. We will have the best seat in the house as commentators and calling the game with some of the legends of the game who are also my friends will be super fun."
The tournament will see six teams facing each other twice during the league-stage encounters. The top four teams will then play one eliminator and two qualifiers to identify the two finalists.
(With IANS inputs)
