IND vs ENG 2021: Dinesh Karthik shares picture with commentary panel for India-England Test series

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has shared a picture with Sky Sports’ commentary panel for the Test series between India and England, which starts today in Nottingham.

Karthik made his commentary debut during the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, and won over a lot of new fans with his refreshing approach to the job. His daily weather update from Southampton became quite a hit.

On Wednesday, Karthik shared a picture with the Sky commentary panel of the India-England series on his Instagram story. Along with the image, Karthik wrote:

“That’s the comm box at Sky for the first Test.”

The picture features Michael Holding, Mike Atherton, Ian Ward, David Lloyd and Mel Jones among others.

Preparations ✅Stage Set 👌It's a matter of few hours before we witness the LIVE action from Trent Bridge 👏 👏 #TeamIndia #ENGvINDARE YOU READY❓ pic.twitter.com/QrGYqoCtFE

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 4, 2021

India are all set to take on England in the first match of the five-Test series at Trent Bridge from Wednesday. Both sides are battling injury and fitness issues ahead of the first game. While India will be without Mayank Agarwal, who suffered concussion due to a hit to his helmet during practice, England batter Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the first Test due to a thigh strain.

---

Nasser Hussain won’t be on commentary during the first two games of the India-England series

Nasser Hussain

Former England captain and renowned commentator Nasser Hussain will miss the first few games of the India-England series due to his commitment to The Hundred.

Sky Sports is the official broadcaster of The Hundred in England and since the league will continue till August 21, Hussain and others from the Sky commentary team like Rob Key and Ebony Rainford-Brent will be busy with coverage of the 100-ball event.

Karthik, himself, did commentary in a few matches for The Hundred. Speaking after making his commentary debut during the WTC final against New Zealand, the wicketkeeper-batsman had stated that he wants to break the stereotype that commentary is for retired cricketers. Karthik was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times:

“There are a lot of other sports like basketball and football where current players come on air when they are not playing. Even now during the Sri Lanka-England T20s, James Anderson was doing it for BBC in the next room. So it is a normal thing, it is only in India I think it is considered like that (post-retirement option). I obviously want to break that stereotype to an extent and I am happy to do this when I am not playing.”

While Karthik has not played for India since the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, he is still hopeful of making a comeback to the national team.