Sunil Gavaskar only Indian in SuperSport's star-studded commentary panel for India vs South Africa 2021 Tests

Cricket South Africa (CSA)’s official broadcaster SuperSport has revealed the commentary panel for the three-Test series between India and South Africa.

Only one Indian, legendary former captain Sunil Gavaskar, has made the list, which includes five South Africans. They comprise four former Proteas players - Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock and Hashim Amla.

While Pollock and Peterson are household broadcasting names, Philander and Amla are recently retired cricketers with distinguished careers. Philander was also Pakistan's bowling coach during their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. They are expected to bring extensive know-how to the modern game.

They will be joined by debutant Kass Naidoo, a veteran South African cricket analyst and commentator, who was richly praised during her stint at The Hundred.

Other esteemed names on the panel include former Hampshire player and popular broadcaster Mark Nicholas, former Zimbabwe international Pommie Mbangwa and erstwhile South Australian cricketer and SuperSport mainstay Mike Haysman.

Vukile Majola, executive producer of cricket at SuperSport, in an official statement, explained how broadcasting will be different than usual for this series in the wake of the fast-emerging pandemic situation. He said:

“Things will be done differently. Apart from all on-ground personnel undergoing daily Covid tests, the proximity to players will be closely monitored, which will affect things like the toss. Also, all the pre-match build-ups will take place via the commentary box.”

India's official broadcaster, Star Sports, will likely showcase a hybrid of the SuperSport world feed and its own broadcasting. Thus, they might also use a separate commentary panel in their studio, which hasn't been officially released yet.

Recently departed India head coach Ravi Shastri is likely to be a part of the English commentary team. Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has also confirmed that he'll commentate live during the series.

---

South Africa vs India Test Series 2021: Full schedule & timings (All times in IST)

1st Test: December 26-30

Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion, 1:30 PM

2nd Test: January 3-7

Venue: The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, 1:30 PM

3rd Test: January 11-15

Venue: Newlands, Cape Town, 1:30 PM

You can follow Sportskeeda's live commentary of the South Africa vs India Test series here.