CSK's MS Dhoni (R) with with MI owner Akash Ambani (L) and others after the IPL 2025 match. (Sportzpics for IPL)MS Dhoni, CSK legend and former India World Cup winner, said he valued the outsider’s perspective and mined commentator’s takes for insights, while speaking on the latest episode of MS Dhoni Experience. He also spoke of regional language game-calls striking a connect, and was fascinated by the trend, though his fascination was neither for Hindi or English (Indian English is a regional variant of English, the region being the subcontinent), nor Tamil, which draws immense numbers.
Dhoni said regional commentary was wondrous for him, and he was intrigued by what the Haryanvi mic-yakkers sounded like, while adding he found the “Bihari” Comms energetic because of how the speakers would drown in the games. “I haven’t heard a lot of regional commentary, but I know that Bihari (Bhojpuri) commentary is highly energetic. It reminds me of old-school radio commentary, where the commentators were very involved. I find that very interesting,” he said.
But there was one particular style that Dhoni was keen to listen to: Haryanvi. “Many people prefer to listen in their regional language—it’s their mother tongue, and they want to experience the game in that way. I would love to hear Haryanvi commentary because it’s quite unique,” he said.
Dhoni who famously wasn’t enamored by outside chatter as an India player, seemed to have warmed up to the idea of commentators adding to his knowledge. The 43-year-old offered a peek into how cricketers perceived commentary. “I haven’t listened to regional language commentary much because when we watch live matches, replays are limited, and most of the commentary I hear is in English or Hindi. That helps us analyse the game better,” he said.
Elaborating further he went on: “Personally, I also like listening to what commentators say because most of them are former players. While I may be playing 17 games in a season, they cover hundreds of matches across different tournaments and countries. Their exposure to various situations and teams is immense. As players, we know our team’s strengths and weaknesses, but listening to commentary gives you an outsider’s perspective. It sparks new ideas—like ‘why don’t we try this approach?’—which can then be evaluated based on intelligence and data to see if it fits within the team’s strategy,” he explained.
Get latest updates on IPL 2025 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live cricket score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.
3 min read
