Agenda Aaj Tak: Navjot Sidhu recalls commentary banter with ‘Shilpa Shetty fan’ Geoffrey Boycott

Former Indian cricketer Navjot Sindhu Sidhu went down memory lane to share hilarious commentary banter with the legendary English batter Geoffrey Boycott. Sidhu shared that the banter revolved around Boycott’s admiration for Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, the former co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals.

The 61-year-old Sidhu, one of the most popular voices in Indian broadcasting, said he got a salary hike after the commentary stint. The veteran said that he was able to build his own unique reputation in the world of commentary due to his originality.

“I went for commentary and Harsha (Bhogle) was there. He was talking about Geoffrey Boycott and people expected us to salute Boycott. When I went there, Geoffrey was like ‘Gabbar Sher’. In those days, he was trying to woo Shilpa Shetty. Everybody feared him,” Sidhu said on the ‘Thoko Taali’ session of Agenda Aaj Tak.

“He was like ‘Sidhu, ha, ha, ha. How are you?’. I was like ‘I am fine sir’. He said: ‘Sidhu, look at the morning sun. Look at it. It’s as beautiful as Shilpa Shetty’. I told him ‘Sir, Shilpa Shetty smiled at you because she thinks you are her father’s best friend. That’s why’. He was like ‘what happened?’. After those two deliveries went by, I was waiting for him to respond.”

“He was like ‘Sidhu, I just celebrated my 27th birthday yesterday’. I was like ‘Yes, Sir Geoffrey, when you celebrated your birthday day before yesterday, the candles cost more than the cake (one candle for each year). And when you lit them up, it was like a prairie fire, they had to call the fire brigade’. When I said that, everybody broke into laughter,” Sidhu said.

“I went in with a salary of Rs 1.5 lakh. But, after that commentary stint, my salary was quickly raised to Rs 5 lakh per day. Why? Because I was original, I had carved a niche for myself. I made a lane for myself, where no one was there. I was original,” Sidhu added.

Navjot Sidhu’s career

Earlier this year, Sidhu returned to commentary in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Sidhu began his commentary journey during India’s 2001 tour of Sri Lanka.

Renowned for his lively and distinctive style, he gained widespread popularity for his sharp wit and clever one-liners. Combining humour with insightful cricket analysis, Sidhu became a cherished personality amongst cricket enthusiasts and fellow commentators.

Sidhu also had an illustrious career for India, having scored over 6600 runs from 51 Tests and 136 ODIs with 15 hundreds and 48 fifties. His last international match was a Test against New Zealand in Hamilton back in January 1999.