The ball was a toe-crushing Yorker — the kind designed to humble batters. Instead, the batsman stepped away and launched it soaring into the stands. In the English commentary box came the familiar reaction: “An absolute beauty.” The Hindi feed swiftly declared: “Lajawab.”In a parallel universe, the same shot was “tantanatan” (top-notch); the delivery an “angutha tod de” (break your thumb) special. And somewhere in the Haryanvi-Punjabi-Bhojpuri multi-verse, that six hadn’t just cleared the boundary — it had gone into Kishanganj and beyond where “saari majja dauda dittiyaan” (it chased all the buffaloes away).Welcome to the brave, industrious world of regional cricket commentary, Indian Premier League’s (IPL) newest battleground — less between bat and ball, more between languages, accents, idioms and swagger.What started as an experiment has become one of the smartest innovations in Indian cricket, taking emotions, colloquialism and decibel levels to a crescendo.Gone are the days when English and Hindi held monopoly. Now, families are switching feeds mid-match, not because they don’t follow but because Bhojpuri makes them laugh harder, Punjabi feels more electric and Marathi or Bengali sounds closer to home.“Did you watch last year when Punjab reached the finals?” asks a longtime viewer in Mumbai who has switched over to Punjabi commentary. “You can’t compare the energy. The commentator was screaming ‘Oh Punjabiyon, appaan final paunch gaye,’ (Oh Punjabis, we have reached the finals) and kept repeating the line, voice hoarse with joy and emotion that you could feel in your bones,” he says.His 17-year-old son, studying in an elite Mumbai school, is meanwhile addicted to Bhojpuri commentary. “Dude, I don’t even understand every word,” the teenager grins, “but how can you not crack up when a beamer is called ‘Mua phodwa ka?’ (Will you break my face or what?)”Story continues below this adThat’s the magic. A lollipop delivery followed by a wicket becomes “ulhavatare, goltawatare (flip-flop).” A towering six isn’t just long — it’s headed to Chhapra station to buy its own ticket.Colourful, earthy, relatable and unapologetically irreverent, regional commentary is turning cricket from the stiff upper-lip gentleman’s game into a chaotic, boisterous picnic happening in every town, village and mohalla.And no one is complaining.Certainly not Siddharth Sharma, Head of Content Sports, JioStar, the man steering this transformation. “I will not take the full credit,” says Sharma, “In the old television broadcasts, the only format was English, while radio had Hindi commentary. The regional push began when Star Sports took broadcast rights in 2013 and asked, ‘Why should commentary not reach larger audiences in the languages they connect with most?’”“In 2013, Hindi commentary came to TV. In 2017, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada (TTK) were added. This was revolutionary. Regional languages helped audiences connect deeper. Sports became more accessible. Heroes became more accessible. In IPL, it became more organic. The Tamil feed would invariably move for CSK (Chennai Super Kings) — Dhoni became its mascot. Similarly in Kannada, it was RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Virat Kohli. And in Telugu, SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad),” Sharma adds.Story continues below this adThe real unlocking happened in 2023, when digital streaming removed the need for channel licences entirely. “TV has a limitation — you need a channel for each language. Digital didn’t have that disadvantage,” he says.The network then looked beyond the five established languages — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English. “We looked at the census, languages, cricket connect in regions, and built the proposition,” says Sharma, explaining how IPL commentary eventually expanded to 12 languages, including Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati and Haryanvi.Once the languages were decided, each needed its own soul.“Regional commentary should remain sharp, vivid and grounded — conversational but never frivolous. It brings people home.”– Saba Karim, former cricketerEnglish commentary offered analytical depth and authority — built for the purist with cricketers such as Aaron Finch, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri. Hindi was warm and aspirational anchored by voices of Navjot Singh Sindhu, Ravichandran Ashwin and Aakash Chopra. Bhojpuri brought uninhibited joy, where even a dot ball became an event. Haryanvi was direct and boldly competitive, with zero-filter banter. Punjabi meant exuberant expressions. Bengali was literary and lyrical. Gujarati pulsed with entrepreneurial energy and community pride energised by the rise of GT (Gujarat Titans).Story continues below this adEach voice was distinct. Together, they began telling one story. And some new stars were born. Auditions reached coaches, local commentators and broadcasters.“We gave them the framework. What will you say when Dhoni walks in? When Kohli hits a cover drive? When there’s a stunning catch? We gave them the playlist, including how to draw parallels with everyday life. They were intelligent people — they built on it beautifully,” says Sharma.***Anil Chaudhary has a rare distinction: umpire-turned-commentator. He was wrapping up his umpiring career when the audition call came. “Who better than a Chaudhary to do it?” he says.Though among the last to join — Haryanvi commentary was added only in 2024 — Chaudhary is already a social media sensation.Story continues below this adThe man who has officiated the most IPL matches as umpire brought deep cricketing knowledge to the mic. He knows pitches, strategies and captains’ minds from years of officiating matches with Dhoni and Virat. He’s called tau — because umpires are tau in Haryana, just like the Third Umpire is dada and the captain is chaudhary. A short-arm pull is a ‘Panchkula shot’. A cover drive is ‘Kurukshetra’.“Initially, hearing five voices together — producer, director, data — was a hygiene issue. It took six months to adjust. Now I don’t overlap, I speak shorter lines, and know when to stop, so meanings aren’t misinterpreted,” says Chaudhary.His popular lines — “Chaara phad diya” (destroyed the fodder), “Jhanjharju ho gaya match” (match is a seesaw), and of course “Tantanatan batting” — land because they are backed by genuine cricketing knowledge. Data and drama are mixed in equal measure.When Arshdeep Singh broke two stumps in two balls in 2023, the hugely-popular Sunil Taneja exclaimed, “Danda tod ta!” (broke the stick). The line became one of the season’s highlights.Story continues below this adAmong the many phrases that caught on, none travelled quite like “Sarpanch sahab.” It began in 2023 when the Punjabi commentary team started using it for Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan. The title stuck so well that they later used it for Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh during the 2024 Olympics, and from 2025 onwards for Shreyas Iyer. Today, fans routinely call both Harmanpreet and Shreyas “Sarpanch sahab.”“It feels special that something we created as part of our job became almost a cult identity for Shreyas,” says Taneja.Another line close to their hearts is one even Kohli enjoyed. Whenever Kohli produces a match-winning knock or century, Taneja’s line still wins hearts: “Gurdas Maan da challa te Virat Kohli da balla — dono kamaal karde hain” (Gurdas Maan’s ring and Virat Kohli’s bat — both create magic).Then there’s Sarandeep Singh, already an established English and Hindi commentator, who was only too happy to shift to “our maa boli.”Story continues below this adA former Indian cricketer and national selector, Singh says Punjabi commentary worked instantly because the language already carries global familiarity through songs, food and dance. Punjabi commentary is “dil khol ke”. His patented lines include “Ude ade di ladai te Kohli ne kad di chadai” for a Kohli power-hit, and the inevitable six call: “Majja de wede de gaya shot” — the shot has gone right into the buffalo shed.While other regional commentators still attempt neutrality, Punjabi commentary abandoned the pretence long ago. When Punjab Kings plays, the commentator is unabashedly part of the team. “Paaji Punjab saadi team hai. We have to support them wholeheartedly. Punjabis can’t be neutral,” says Singh.The love comes not just from India but from the UK, US and Canada too. “Paggawale is our identity and our positivity is infectious,” says Singh. Indeed. When Punjab Kings were tumbling at 51 for 5 against Gujarat Titans on May 3, the Punjabi commentator declared it an auspicious “shagna wala number” and kept the faith.For former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, speaking cricket in Marathi is pure joy. What makes Marathi commentary come alive, he explains, is its diversity — dialects drifting in from Solapur, Kolhapur, Mumbai and Pune, each carrying its own words and warmth.Story continues below this adHis instinct is always to connect with the home team. When Mumbai Indians walk out, the air crackles with “Amchi Mumbai ali re ali!” Rohit Sharma becomes Mumbai cha raja; Surya is simply dada. A bowled dismissal becomes a “trifala”. A sixer is a glorious “shatkaar”. A boundary, a crisp “chaukaar”.***If Punjabi and Haryanvi are fan favourites, the overall winner is Bhojpuri.“Bhojpuri is very close to Hindi, so even people who don’t speak it can understand,” says Saurabh Kumar, one of its best-known voices. “We don’t go much into technical words — we comment the way four Bhojpuri-speaking people sitting together would discuss the match.” Former India cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy approaches her Kannada commentary through a tactical lens.Kumar was a cricket coach when the call came. His cricketing knowledge synced perfectly with the role. “On day one, Mohammad Shami bowled a beamer. Instead of saying ‘beamer,’ we said: ‘Mua phodwa ka?’ People connected instantly.” For a long six: “Itna badiya se maar ball Ganga ke paar ja kar gida.” (Such a brilliant shot that it has landed on the other side of Ganga).“We bring it to ground level — of a match happening in a village’s school,” says Kumar.There was some criticism around casual talk and double-meaning lines but Kumar says the most controversial clips were edited because reels were taken out of context. “We are very careful. All commentators have their families watching. There is a filter in our mind and the platform demands it.”Kumar also trained Vaibhav Suryavanshi before the teenager hit a six off the first ball of his IPL innings. “Now I only call him Vaibhavshali,” he says.***The southern languages, with their head start, have built their own committed fan base.As P Srinivasa Murthy says, “The most important change is how we have made inroads into India’s villages — we have managed to reach every Kannada-speaking cricket fan.”Before commentary, Murthy analysed cricket for a Kannada news channel. The viewers now love his one-liners and rhymes. “A lot of one-liners have become memes — like Nayaka Aadru Ivattu Vinayaka — the leader (Captain) has now become the remover of all obstacles (Vinayaka).”The biggest challenge comes when RCB is playing. “They have a wide and fanatic fan base, so it’s very difficult when RCB is not doing well — we can’t really hurt sentiments,” he admits, “In such times, we just praise the opponent instead of criticising the home team too much.”Former India cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy, one of the few women commentators, approaches her Kannada commentary differently. “I try to understand what’s happening even before the ball is bowled — whether a field position has changed, what tactics are in play. My effort is to simplify those nuances and explain the things viewers often cannot immediately see on screen.” Telugu commentator T Suman.Former first-class cricketer T Suman adds that regional audiences don’t want textbook commentary — they want connection and a sense of “manavadu” — our man talking. His favourite Telugu punchline: “Dhairye Sahasye runs” — if you are brave, fortune and runs will follow.“I keep it simple. Emotion is natural, biases are controlled and analysis is honest. If my team does well, I celebrate; if they make mistakes, I clearly say it. Fans respect honesty more than blind support.”***Former India cricketer Saba Karim, who commentates in Hindi, is a fan of Bhojpuri and Punjabi commentary himself. He calls regional language feeds “a brilliant initiative.” He rejects the idea that regional commentary threatens English or Hindi.“Every language carries history, culture, cadence, pause — its own way of turning human experience into shared meaning. None diminishes the other,” he says, adding, “Regional commentary should remain sharp, vivid and grounded — conversational but never frivolous. It brings people home.”***The impact is measurable.“If somebody was watching 100 minutes, he’s now watching 113 minutes,” says Sharma. “And within that also, there is a growing cohort watching the entire match in that specific language.”Bhojpuri and Punjabi emerged as standout performers from 2023. Haryanvi entered in 2024 and grew 47 percent year-on-year in IPL 2025, then nearly tripled lead share in IPL 2026. Bhojpuri watch time also grew sharply from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to the T20 World Cup 2026.Southern languages continue to benefit from their early-mover advantage.“We had Virender Sehwag as our commentator in Haryanvi. In Bhojpuri, we had (BJP MP and actor) Ravi Kishan as a face. But the depth of engagement comes from the original voices,” says Sharma, “What has really worked is that regional nuances driven into the commentary have stoked a sense of pride and belonging.”Or as T Suman puts it: “Earlier IPL was watched, now it is felt.”