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Glam girl with intelligence, Isa Guha looks the part

With her killer appearance and knowledge of the game, former England fast bowler has changed perception about women commentators.

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“Bangalore or Chennai, which team would triumph?” the host of Extra Innings T20 asked experts.

“CSK!” beamed Navjot Singh Sidhu. Alongside him was the suave Isa Guha. “I would want RCB to win. It should make the IPL more interesting on the final day of the league stage,” she said.

“Ah...smart answer!” the host remarked.

Guha is certainly changing perceptions about women commentators. She’s been a welcome change given the kind of stuff the other women analysts, blissfully ignorant about the game, have been dishing out to viewers.

We squirmed at their juvenile questions and fake attempts to make the “atmosphere electric” when only a few thousands were around at the stadium. Mandira Bedi and her spaghetti straps made for a better visual treat.

Glamour and intelligence is a rare combine. That’s what makes Guha, a former England fast bowler, so refreshing.

She has the gift of appearance; and having played at the highest level, she holds her own with her male counterparts.

As she says, “Bringing me in has added another dimension to the show because I have played the game.”

She excelled in it too. She was part of the England team when they reached their highest point in 2008-09, winning the World Cup, World T20 and destroying Australia in the Ashes. Guha was ranked ICC Women’s No. 1 in 2009.

Guha may well have set a template for women analysts. “It is important for big names such as Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri to get on board and recognise that women do actually understand the game and they can play as well. It would set an example for the rest of the country,” Guha says.

“I remember in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka where we were doing interviews and sending out good luck messages to the women teams. Yuvraj Singh was part of it, and the impact was huge. Just having the support from the male players is important as the women’s game moves forward,” she adds.

Her TV career started before IPL 4 with ITV, one of UK’s largest networks, and she’s worked with the likes of Clive Lloyd, Mark Butcher and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

So how is it working with Sidhu and keeping pace with his verbal diarrhoea? “He obviously has his own style and uses a lot of colourful words and phrases. But a lot of those phrases actually make a lot of sense in describing the situation or his thoughts.”

Talking about style, her favourite ‘stylish cricketer’ is Virat Kohli. “I think even in his batting, his style his just so effortless and pleasing to the eye.”

And whose manner of celebration this season takes the cake? “Definitely Harbhajan Singh’s Gangnam style,” she says. “That was the most fun to watch.”

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