From a dashing batter to making a mark in Telugu sports commentary, Suman aces it!

For the record, Suman scored 240 runs in the 2019 IPL for Deccan Chargers, which is more than what Virat Kohli scored in that season for RCB!

HYDERABAD: Making a mark with the mike!

Well, for the dashing batter of yesteryears, Tirumulasetty Suman, it has been a pleasing transition from taking on the best of the bowlers on the field to making a critical analysis with the mike, donning the role of a tv commentator for Star Sports Telugu channel.

Interestingly, the former Hyderabad opener, who played between 2003-2015, was not in the mood to entertain any calls for tv commentary for three years when he got the first call in 2017.
“Honestly, I was reluctant and that too to be a Telugu commentator. But once, I took it up in 2020 and pushed straight away into the ‘live show’. I got hooked on it,” Suman says in a chat with ‘Telangana Today’.

For someone who has the rare distinction of being a member of IPL winning twice for two Hyderabad franchises (Deccan Chargers in 2009 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2010) and then played for Mumbai Indians for two seasons and one season for Pune Warriors in 2013, Suman apparently knows what he speaks.

“Yes, having played with the best and in challenging conditions, I feel I can do my job better,” says Suman.

“The biggest challenge is to control the emotions. For instance, when Rohit Sharma’s India won the T-20 World Cup last year, I was with the mike, struggling to control my tears of joy,” he recalled. “The other way is to strike a balance when your favourite cricketer does really well. For all viewers may not like him,” he said with a big smile.

“Honestly, there are no do’s and don’ts for us. It is just about steering clear of any controversies, bias and always be neutral,” Suman said.

For the record, Suman scored 240 runs in the 2019 IPL for Deccan Chargers, which is more than what Virat Kohli scored in that season for RCB!

“For me, the greatest moment was when I opened with Sachin Sir (Tendulkar), playing for Mumbai Indians,” he said.

Suman said it was the Sunrisers which had reinvented the T-20 format with its explosive approach in 2024. “You see more batters executing strokes behind the square and all those lap shots and reverse strokes.

In fact, they seem to be training really hard in pre-season camps for hours,” Suman said. “And, I feel more than Ranji Trophy performances, how these players are performing in the domestic T-20 format is being watched more by the talent scouting teams,” he said.

“Definitely, IPL is now a much bigger and quicker platform for any talented and performing cricketer to make it big. I remember our captain Adam Gilchrist telling us after we won the IPL in South Africa – you don’t realise how big you have achieved it now. You will realise only a decade later,” Suman recalled.