Renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle on Sunday celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first One-Day International (ODI) match as a commentator. Taking to Instagram, Mr Bhogle shared a photo of the invitation he received from Doordarshan for his first commentary stint.
"40 years ago today. My first ODI. Still remember that young man trying frantically to get opportunities. And a kind producer from DD-Hyd giving him this break," Mr Bhogle wrote on Instagram. "I sat on a roller the previous evening, in a simple t-shirt, doing the curtain raiser. And got two commentary stints the next day. Over the next 14 months I got to do two more ODIs and a test match. Gratitude," he added.
Take a look at the post below:
The picture that Mr Bhogle shared showed the first salary he received at the time - Rs 350. Notably, the invitation also revealed that Mr Bhogle made his commentary debut during an ODI match between India and Pakistan, played at Hyderabad in 1983.
Since being shared, Mr Bhogle's post has accumulated more than 30,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Senior cricketer Dinesh Karthik also applauded the commentator as he commented, "DOUBLE IT UP Harsha."
"The voice of Cricket in....Shri Harsha Bhogle," wrote one social media user. "If it wasn't for that producer we wouldn't have gotten the voice of cricket. Your voice is like honey to the ears @bhogle_harsha," said another.
A third user commented, "You're second to none in this domain. Love you passion and presentation every time you take the charge. May you tick more boxes and keep thriving Sir. @bhogle_harsha". "You are awsome. Sir when you on commentary box & match is in very interesting mode I specially watching match for listening your commentary," added a fourth.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Mr Bhogle caught up with Peter Drury at the World Test Championship (WTC) Final between India and Australia. The meeting between the "voice of cricket" and "voice of football" took place at The Oval during the ongoing WTC Final. "What a lovely man and top professional #PeterDrury is. Delighted to talk to him about his craft," Bhogle captioned a photo alongside Drury.
