Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of the TATA IPL 2023, announced a star-studded panel of commentators that features some of the biggest names from the cricket world. . It is pertinent to note that this will be the first time in history of the tournament that there will be a separate broadcast and live streaming partners and both are competing against each other to grab the maximum number of eyeballs. In a bid to do just that, Star Sports, where one can tune in to watch the IPL matches on television this year, has included some of the legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Matthew Hayden and Virender Sehwag in their commentary panel. In addition, they have confirmed that they will be providing the feed of their coverage in as many as nine languages. However, the list does not include some of the prominent names like Ian Bishop, Ravi Shastri and Harsha Bhogle who have been an integral part of the tournament's broadcast in the past. While all three of them are expected to cover the tournament, they could be part of the world feed of the broadcast.
The Star Sports panel will also boast of legendary Indian openers with contrasting batting and commentary styles - Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag. Adding to the diversity and stature to the broadcast ranks will be Mithali Raj, one of the greatest women cricketers of all time. Four-time IPL and two-time World Champion Harbhajan Singh will be joined by winner of the first-ever IPL title Mohammad Kaif. Former IPL coaches Tom Moody, Daniel Vettori and Simon Katich will provide an insider’s view on the game, analysing tactics and plays. The strong line-up also includes former India all-rounder and winner of ICC T20 World Cup 2007 - Irfan Pathan. Making his debut on Star Sports’ panel will be Irfan’s brother, two-time World champion and one of the most impactful IPL players ever – Yusuf Pathan. Former India opener and three-time IPL champion Murali Vijay makes a foray into sports broadcasting for the first time ever and will be joined by Laxmipathy Balaji, who also has three IPL titles to his name, two as player and one as member of the CSK coaching staff. The strong title winners’ list also includes Subramaniam Badrinath, who won two titles with CSK. S Sreesanth also joins the elite ranks of Star Sports’ experts. Former Indian cricketer Amol Muzumdar leads the broadcast in Marathi while former India cricketer Nayan Mongia will lead the ranks of Gujarati experts. The Malayalam and Bengali feeds will be led by two former Indian pacers in Tinu Yohanan and Ashoke Dinda respectively. With the first match of the season scheduled on 31 March between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and the four-time winners Chennai Super Kings, there is a sense of excitement among the fans for the start of the cash-rich league.
