ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 is set to have an elite commentary panel that includes the likes of Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, along with recently retired cricketers like Dale Steyn and Shane Watson.
The tournament is returning after five years and the last T20 World Cup event was played in 2016 which was won by West Indies. The winning team captain Daren Sammy will also join the commentary panel in this year's tournament.
The commentator list also includes Harsha Bhogle, Natalie Germanos, Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Atherton, and Simon Doull, Russel Arnold, Anjum Chopra, Murali Kartik, Athar Ali Khan, Bazid Khan, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Preston Mommsen, Danny Morrison, Mark Nicholas, Niall O'Brien and Alan Wilkins.
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ICC TV will produce live coverage of all the matches in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, and a full world feed service for licensees including a pre-match show, an innings interval fill, and a post-match wrap up.
The rescheduled T20 World Cup will begin on Sunday, October 17 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The first matches for Round 1 Group B will compete on Sunday, while Group A will begin on Monday.
Sammy spoke on the tournament and said it will help in the growth of cricket around the world. "Twenty20 cricket provides maximum thrills to fans and it's no wonder that it is considered to be the vehicle for the growth of the game worldwide. Believe me, there are no easy games in this tournament and it has been nothing less than a dream for me to lift the trophy twice for my team. I still back the West Indies to defend their title but I really wish all the teams the very best. It will be a great pleasure being in the commentary box this time."
Steyn added: "It's an honour to be part of the commentary team at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and a pleasure to be watching all the action from close quarters. The game has changed a lot in recent times and there is some really exciting talent out there waiting to make its mark.
"I am sure there are lots of explosive performances and close finishes in store. I can't really pick a team to win it yet, and that is what makes the tournament all that more exciting - all the unpredictability, along with the anticipation."
Hussain understands the importance of this tournament as T20 cricket is the fastest evolving format. "This is going to be a massive tournament with the world's top players in action in the fastest evolving format of the international game. Not only do we get to see the leading teams, but we also get a chance to see the emerging teams fancying their chances in the T20 format. I can't wait for the tournament to begin and I'll enjoy working on these mouth-watering contests," he said.
The ICC TV production will see a minimum of 35 cameras at all venues. Viewers will be treated to state-of-the-art coverage which will include live player tracking and a dynamic field plot provided by Quidich Tracker.
For the first time in cricket, we'll also see tracking off the bat, which will be provided by Hawk-Eye in select matches, in addition to their ball tracking and edge detection services. Stunning multi-angle "spin around" replay sequences from 4DReplay, facilitated in partnership with Star Sports, will also be available for select matches in the Super 12 phase. Cable-suspended camera system Spidercam and cricket analytics service CricViz will also be integral elements of the ICC TV coverage.
After teams play in Round 1 of the tournament, the top from each group will progress to the Super 12s against the top-eight ranked T20 cricket nations.
Group 1 competition will begin on October 23, followed by Group 2 competition beginning on October 24. The groups will also alternate days for competition until the semifinals begin on November 10. There will be 45 games in the tournament including the final.
(With ANI Inputs)
