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‘I’m not Sidhu, I can’t do that,’ Aakash Chopra reveals how he is different from other commentators

Hindustan Times | By
Mar 27, 2020 06:18 PM IST

Chopra, who played 10 Tests for India, is one of the most recognizable voices in Hindi commentary and has a big fan following in the country.

When Aakash Chopra retired in 2015, no one would have imagined that he would become one of the most prominent voices in cricket. The cricketer-turned-commentator is hot property in the cricketing circles due to his witty comments and analogies. English used to be the only language to be used in commentary for a long time in cricket. But that has completely changed as regional languages have started to make a mark.

Chopra, who played 10 Tests for India, is one of the most recognizable voices in Hindi commentary and has a big fan following in the country.

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Chopra has now revealed why he chose to master his craft in Hindi rather than in English. Aakash said that he along with his wife chose to give importance to Hindi as they wanted to carve a niche for him.

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“Hindi is my first language, it comes naturally to me. In Hindi, we got that kind of a freehand when it was re-invented by Star. Since I was a part of it from the beginning, I had the luxury of creating a new template,” Aakash Chopra told Cricbuzz.

“With English, I feel the template is already set in stone. The style is designed to be very sanitized, very white-collared. There are of course some outliers like Danny Morrison, but I’m no Danny.

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“I can’t be a Bumble because I don’t have that plethora of words to play with. So I will not go there, I would rather stick to my strengths. With Hindi also, I don’t go shaayari. I’m not Sidhu, I can’t do that.

“But I’ll play with words, whether it’s rhyming or it’s a pun because with Hindi I know where I can use them. English is straight-jacketed.”

It is just not his Hindi that has caught the eye of the fans but also his analytical thinking during the games. Aakash often tries to explain to the viewers about the strategies taking place and sometimes also tries his hand at predicting some of the outcomes.

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