Need to watch the sport very keenly to contribute in the right manner: Dinesh Karthik on commentary

The entertainment quotient of a game is often influenced by the person calling it from behind the mic. India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has quickly become a fan favourite by adding his touch to the art of commentary. That he is an active cricketer and not a former like most of his colleagues has only added a fresh perspective.

Karthik says that he wanted to break the stereotype of only former cricketers taking up the role of a commentator.

"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," Karthik told PTI.

Karthik revealed that he was just adding the perspective of a player, as to how difficult it can be at times in the middle.

"Commentary can be a lot of fun. You need to watch the sport very keenly to contribute in the right manner. Even while talking about the players (teammates), you just speak about the sport and you tell people how hard it is from their shoes. That is what I was trying to do. I enjoyed my process of understanding how each player would think at a certain point of time and speak on what is the right thing to do for them at the point of time.”

The Tamil Nadu cricketer has been rubbing shoulders with some of the finest broadcasters of the game, and called it an awesome experience.

"It has also been awesome to be sitting alongside Nasser and Athers (Atherton). They are the best in the business and just to get to chat about the game with them is something I have enjoyed immensely besides learning a huge amount," concluded Karthik.