BCCI set to review its neutral commentator policy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a recent development revealed that henceforth it will review its policy of having neutral commentators for all home series in the future. According to a top board official, the current practice of having a neutral commentator has not gone down well with some of the players contracted by the board.

The presence of Jonathan Trott in the commentary team for the current series has meant that one Indian cricketer had to be shown the door. Interestingly, BCCI is the only organization to adhere to such a policy. It is not followed by any other broadcaster. The board has been seeking the services of neutral commentators in all the home series this year.

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull was part of the commentary team for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka before Trott replaced him for the third Test and the three ODIs. Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden had commentated in all the three Tests against Sri Lanka.

Graeme Smith, the former South African captain, will join Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Murali Karthik and Russel Arnold in the commentators’ box for the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.

More Indian players to be added to the commentary team

The BCCI official privy to the developments assured, “It was an issue regarding the availability of commentators. It is not a policy but a one-off arrangement. In any case, we have taken note of the feedback and will address the issue in the future. We are also keen to have more and more Indian players in the commentators’ team,” was quoted by sportstarlive as saying.

The change in policy would facilitate the promotion of players who regularly give their services to domestic games. There is also a move to introduce more home commentators in the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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