The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League will be a firsts of sorts as after a long time the cash rich T20 league will be played behind empty doors amid the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also be only for the second time that the league is being staged outside India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the alarming rise of Covid-19 cases.

With the usual glitz and glamour around the league being a bit devoid, the commentators and presenters will have to find out unique ways to keeps the millions of the spectators on television and live streaming platforms engaged and entertained over the all the action unfold which unfolds on the green turf.

In an earnest bid to make the IPL 13 more lively; Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Dream 11 IPL, have unveiled a star-studded commentary panel which includes the best voices and experts on the sport from all across the world. However, one notable absentee in the commentary panel will surely be former Indian cricketer and well known presenter Sanjay Manjreker

While the likes of Harsha Bhogle, Sunil Gavaskar, Danny Morrison, Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar, Pommie Mbangwa, Darren Ganga, L Sivaramakrishnan, Murali Kartik would once again enrich the viewers with their expert analysis and opinions on the game, former South African all-rounder JP Duminy is set to make his debut in the commentary box.

Former India chief selectors Kris Srikkanth and MSK Prasad will be commentating in Tamil and Telugu, respectively. Former India assistant coach Sanjay Bangar is part of the Hindi commentary team.

Lisa Sthalekar and Anjum Chopra are two women commentators on the list. Sthalekar, an ICC Hall of Famer, has been part of IPL commentary panel in past. Chopra, the former India captain, is considered as the voice of women's cricket in India.

“It’s an absolute delight to welcome back Indian cricket with the IPL and I hope this tournament can infuse positive energy into the lives of millions of people,” Gavaskar said.

I am thrilled to be part of the commentary panel for one of the most electrifying cricket leagues, and I can’t wait to join the excitement along with the fans and viewers. The Indian Premier League has been the perfect platform to unearth talent and I hope this year too, we get to see that. The teams are stacked up really well and all eyes will be on the opening game between Mumbai and Chennai Super Kings. We will be watching MS Dhoni play after a year, and am sure everyone is waiting to see him back in action. Let the games begin!” he added.

“The IPL has always been considered as the pinnacle of cricket leagues where the stars of the game converge on the biggest platform of them all,” Duminy said.

“I am really thrilled to be making my debut as a commentator for the IPL and I hope my experience and insights will empower viewers and fans to analyse, understand and most importantly, enjoy the games together.

I can’t wait for the opening match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings since I expect plenty of fireworks on the ground. I’m sure CSK and Dhoni fans all over the world will be ecstatic to watch MS Dhoni return to the playing field,” he added.

Here is the list of commentators & presenters:

English: Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull, Ian Bishop, Michael Slater, Danny Morrison, Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar, Pommie Mbangwa, Darren Ganga, L Sivaramakrishnan, Murali Kartik, Sunil Gavaskar, Kevin Pietersen, Anjum Chopra, Lisa Sthalekar, Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara and JP Duminy.

HINDI: Aakash Chopra, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Nikhil Chopra, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar and Kiran More.

ANCHORS: Suren Sundaram, Kira Narayanan, Suhail Chandok, Nashpreet Kaur, Sanjana Ganesan, Jatin Sapru, Tanya Purohit, Anant Tyagi, Dheeraj Juneja, Neroli Meadows