In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has made his comeback to commentary and will be seen during the IPL 2024, which gets underway on Mar 22. However, his continuation in politics is still under suspense.

“A wise man once said, “Hope is the biggest ‘tope’”. And this wise man, the great @sherryontopp himself, has joined our Incredible StarCast!,” said Star Sports in a post on X.

The IPL season opener is between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Former Cabinet minister and Punjab Congress president, Sidhu is lying low in politics after walking out of jail in April last year. He remained behind bars for 317 days in a Patiala jail in his hometown Patiala in a 1988 road rage case.

A day earlier, Sidhu slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab. “Today, the shocking reality of Punjab’s financial state has been brought to light. Recent figures reveal a dire situation with the government’s debt soaring to ₹47,262 cr in 2022-23, ₹44,032 cr in 2023-24 (revised estimates), and ₹41,831 cr in 2024-25 (Budget estimates),” he said.

The IPL 2024 will be broadcasted with commentary in nine language feeds, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, and Bangla with a host of reputed legends and experts.

Speaking about his return to commentary, Sidhu said, “Commentary is not like a sleeping pill that will make people sleep. You need to make it understandable to the common man with an addition to what is happening. If you are an expert, whatever is happening on the screen is in front of everyone else as they are seeing it too. How you will add the component in the picture of what is not shown on the screen, is the strength of the commentator.”

He added, “I believe commentary is an art. In radio commentary, you paint a picture for fans, and they do believe in it. But here, we have visuals, and we need to slow down a bit while adding context to the picture,” Sidhu said.

Sidhu, who had taken up commentary soon after quitting active cricket, has gone into politics and television reality shows. He was a member of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2014 representing Amritsar and a minister in the Congress government in Punjab.

He said the Economic Survey of India highlighted a concerning reverse multiplier trend where Punjab’s investment to GDP ratio has plummeted from 30.22% in 1990’s to a mere 14.07% in recent years.

Responding to Sidhu’s rejoining cricket commentary, Punjab BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal said he was the first person in the world to foresee this.

“I tweeted this two years back that you may join back as cricket commentator or in comedy circus. Will watch your shows in the busy schedule of elections,” he added.

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style

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