New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Former cricketers AB De Villiers, Kane Williamson, Shane Watson, Virender Sehwag, Ravi Shastri, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Anil Kumble, Mark Boucher, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Sunil Gavaskar and Ajay Jadeja are among 170 experts gathered by the official broadcaster for the coverage of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Also part of the star-studded panel put up by JioHotstar, the official broadcasters of IPL, are Navjot Singh Siddhu, Aakash Chopra, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj and celebrated Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan as matches will be shown in more than 25 feeds across Linear TV and Digital platforms.

The line-up proves that fans and viewers are in for a treat as JioStarhas assembled the biggest star cast for IPL ever.

As India’s favourite sporting carnival turns 18, JioStar has announced a never-seen-before presentation with 25-plus feeds in 12 languages across linear TV and digital, brought alive by more than 170 experts that include IPL champions, World Cup winners from India and across the world.

On TV, in addition to the English feed, the network will provide coverage in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada across JioStar Network, while on digital, the 18th season will be streamed live across 16 feeds, including 12 languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Haryanvi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati and Punjabi.

In addition to the language options, the live streaming on JioHotstar will be complemented by multi-cam feeds, Hangout feeds, and a first-of-its-kind feed designed for young audiences and families called ‘Motu Patlu present Super Funday’.

“What we have assembled for the TATA IPL 2025 is nothing less than a spectacle. It is the 18th season, a milestone that deserves a celebration garnished by first-of-its-kind innovations, top-of-the-line talent, and a presentation that will unite millions of Indians. Our efforts will match the energy and excitement that the league brings to the country,” said a JioStar Sports spokesperson in a release on Saturday.

In a never-seen-before avatar, one of the world’s most accomplished batsmen and most loved global figure, Kane Williamson will make his debut as a commentator and expert in IPL. The first New Zealand player to win the orange cap and two-time IPL champion played with Gujarat Titans until last season.

The addition to IPL champion Shane Watson, former Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher and his compatriot and Royal Challengers Bengaluru icon AB De Villiers, former Punjab Kings mentor Virender Sehwag, former Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan, former Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina, will further deepen JioStar’s key proposition of providing fans inside access from key members who until recently shared the dressing room with top franchisees.

After winning titles with Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, Shane Watson continues his journey in the IPL with JioStar. The line-up also includes former IPL captains and heroes including Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay, and Kedar Jadhav across multiple language feeds. Father-son duo of Anirudh Srikkanth and K. Srikkanth will feature together in the Tamil expert’s panel. Manvinder Bisla, man of the match of the 2012 IPL Final, will be the face of the Haryanvi feed.

In the continuous endeavour to give fans and viewers an immersive experience, JioStar is creating a touchpoint for second-screen engagement. While watching the action live on Linear TV, if viewers miss out on key moments, they will get an option to scan a QR code and catch the key moment on their mobile phone on JioHotstar.

Making the viewing experience inclusive and ensuring fans and viewers can enjoy the cricket carnival in their own way, MaxView, Live Audio Descriptive, and Indian Sign Language will make their IPL debut on JioHotstar. Multi-cam feed will continue to give viewers on JioHotstar options to watch TATA IPL from different angles with fan-favourite Hero Cam coming back along with Stump Cam, Batter Cam, and Bird’s Eye Cam among others.

The 18th season of IPL will see the return of a digital-exclusive and popular Hangout feed, and the newly-introduced ‘Motu Patlu present Super Funday’. The special kids’ feed will feature the beloved cartoon characters Motu and Patlu as commentators, bringing a fresh, playful, and exciting twist to the IPL experience.

The Hangout feed will give fans a light-hearted and quirky take on the perennially competitive league through new-age content creators and popular stand-up comics like Angad Singh, Kunal Saluja, Sahiba Bali, Inder Sahni, Shubham Shandilya, and Aditya Kulshreshta among others. This feed will present quintessential TATA IPL action that is expected to draw first-time viewers and non-sports audiences and augment the league’s viewership.

Through the 18th season, JioStar will put together an exciting slate of content for fans around IPL icons and captains, including MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, and Pat Cummins, among others.

–IANS

bsk/