Veteran Marathi cricket commentator Bal Pandit passes away

Veteran cricket Marathi commentator Bal Pandit passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 89.
He is considered as pioneer of cricket commentary in Marathi who had made the game more popular in Maharashtrian households.

About Bal Pandit

• Bal Pandit was born on 24 July 1929 in Pune.
• Prior to starting his commentator career, Pandit was cricketer and had played for Maharashtra. His cricketing debut was in the Rohinton Baria Trophy and played for two seasons between 1951 and 1953.
• Commentary career: He is often described as an encyclopedia of Marathi synonyms for original cricketing parlance in English. Pandit had endeared himself with fans of the cricket with his lucid live commentary of both domestic and international matches on All India Radio (AIR) for over4 decades, before the advent of 24X7 television channels.
• Writer career: He was also a prolific cricket writer and had written about 30 books. He also had penned newspaper and magazine articles on cricket and enhanced knowledge of the game among readers.
• He also had translated Sunil Gavaskar’s autobiography ‘Sunny Days’ in Marathi.
• Awards: Maharashtra government had bestowed Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award on him in 1978 in recognition of his contribution to the game of cricket.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2015