Navjot Singh Sidhu Set for Cricket Comeback: IPL Commentary Return Confirmed by Star Sports
Senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is set to make a comeback in cricket once again. He will be seen commentating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The IPL will commence from March 22, starting with the first match.
Star Sports has confirmed this information through its social media account. They posted, “The Sultan of Commentary Box is back.” Sidhu also shared this post.
Sidhu met Punjab Governor B.L. Purohit on Friday in Chandigarh. It was informed to the media that they are not contesting in the Lok Sabha elections this time.
He stated firmly that due to leaving cricket commentary, he has been facing financial losses. He mentioned that during difficult times, this work comes in handy.
Sidhu’s Political Journey
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s father, Sardar Bhagwant Singh, was a cricketer. He wished his son to be a player like him. To fulfill his father’s wish, Sidhu ventured into cricket. From 1983 to 1999, he was a part of the Indian team. He played his first Test match against West Indies. Sidhu has played a total of 51 Test matches and 136 One Day Internationals (ODIs).
He scored 3,202 runs in Tests and 4,413 runs in ODIs. After almost 17 years in the cricket world, he retired in 1999. After completing his cricket journey, he tried his hand at commentary. Sidhu last commented in IPL 2018. After becoming a minister in the Punjab government, he was excluded from the commentary panel. He then quit all his TV shows.
Reason for Returning to Commentary?
Political analysts say that Sidhu had completely distanced himself from the Congress. There was no attention given to him in the Punjab Pradesh Congress. He was completely distant from the party for almost 2 months. His influence in the party high command was weakening. He had announced not to contest in the Lok Sabha elections and there is still 3 years left for the Vidhan Sabha elections. In such a situation, Sidhu has opted for re-entry into the world of television.
Sidhu’s Political Career
Navjot Singh Sidhu joined the BJP in 2004. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from Amritsar. From 2014, he was a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha. In the same Lok Sabha elections, BJP replaced him with Arun Jaitley from his constituency Amritsar. He was sent to Rajya Sabha in 2016 but he resigned from the BJP.
In 2017, he joined the Congress. After this, he won the election from Amritsar East constituency and became an MLA. After that, he was made a minister in Captain’s government. However, there was a disagreement between him and then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. When he was removed from his ministry when Captain’s ministry was reshuffled, he did not join the cabinet again.
After this, he distanced himself from politics. After this, suddenly, the Congress high command made him the president of Punjab Congress. After this, he started a political war and removed Captain Amarinder Singh from the post of Chief Minister.
When the Congress high command made Sidhu the CM instead of making him the CM, they made Charanjit Channi the Chief Minister. After this, Sidhu started opposing Channi like Captain. In the 2022 elections, the Congress lost power and Sidhu also lost the Amritsar East seat. After this, Sidhu was removed from the post of Punjab Congress president.
IPL to Start from March 22
The 17th season of the IPL will begin from March 22. The first match will be played between defending champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai. Due to the Lok Sabha elections, only the schedule of the first 21 matches has been announced.
