Harsha Bhogle, the renowned Indian cricket commentator, took to his social media handle to reveal that he will not be a part of the broadcasting panel of the highly-anticipated India vs Pakistan ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 clash as he is suffering from dengue. However, he hoped to be back for India's next group-stage match against Bangladesh. While the IND vs PAK fixture is scheduled to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14 (Saturday), the IND vs BAN encounter will be staged at the MCA Stadium in Pune on October 19 (Thursday).
"I am disappointed at having to miss out on #IndiavsPak on the 14th. But I have dengue and the resultant weakness, and lowered immunity, will make it impossible. I am hoping to be back in time for the game on the 19th. My colleagues, and the broadcast crew, have been very helpful (and took on the extra workload during the second half of #IndiaVsAus ) and I look forward to saying thank you to them in person," he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Bhogle, in his tweet, also expressed his gratitude to his fellow colleagues and the broadcast team for stepping up to handle additional responsibilities when he had to withdraw due to health issues during the latter part of the India vs Australia match at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
During a rapid-fire session with Cricbuzz just before the tournament commenced, Harsha Bhogle made his predictions for the four semi-finalists, naming India, Australia, England, and Pakistan as his likely contenders, with South Africa emerging as his top dark horse. He also predicted Babar Azam to be the leading run-scorer in the tournament and Kuldeep Yadav to be the highest wicket-taker. In terms of the best pace attack, Bhogle gave a slight edge to Australia's Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood over that of India.
Bhogle has been part of broadcasting setups since 1983 and is often referred to as the Voice of Indian Cricket.