Dhoni could be a guest commentator in India's 1st ever Day-Night Test
New Delhi, Nov 5: Mahendra Singh Dhoni might have taken a sabbatical when it comes to playing the game after India’s exit in the 2019 World Cup, but he could be seen as a ‘guest’ commentator for India’s maiden Day-Night Test at the Eden Gardens against Bangladesh. If host broadcasters Star have their way, Dhoni will be seen in the commentary box on the opening day of the Test match on November 22.
In the plan proposed by Star to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly for the pink ball Test, accessed by IANS, all former captains of the Indian team are to be invited for the first two days of the Test match and will be asked to share their favourite moments from India’s Test history.
“Invite India Test captains for Day 1 & 2 of the Test. All captains at the ground along with (Virat) Kohli and the rest of the team as well as the dignitaries line up for the anthem. Captains appear on commentary as guests through the day to re-collect their favourite moments from India’s Test history. Down memory lane segments recorded with individual captains are played on the big screen at the ground in breaks Day 4 onwards,” reads the plan for the former India captains.
This will interestingly be the first time that Dhoni will be seen donning the role of commentator and if the former skipper does accept the invite that has supposedly already been sent, it will undoubtedly be a treat for the fans who can never have enough of their Captain Cool.
But this isn’t all as far as Star and their planning to make the first pink ball Test a carnival is concerned. At Lunch on the third day, India’s greatest win at Eden Gardens will be celebrated — against Australia in 2001.
“V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble (?) and Rahul Dravid (?) re-live the Test match (2001). Segments aired on the big screen,” the plan reads.
The question marks next to Kumble and Dravid’s name suggests they might have not made their availability known when the documentation was done on Saturday.
This apart, the host broadcasters are also planning to telecast the training session of the Indian team with the pink ball on the eve of the game. This will be a first in the history of Indian cricket.
“Free entry to watch India practice on Friday (B & L block). Live coverage of the practice session on Star. Crowd interaction with legends. Crowd interactions with select India players (at the end of the session),” reads the mail.
In a delight for those who are in attendance at the picturesque stadium, Star is also looking to organise audio commentary for them.
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Hormuz Blockade: Why Your World Stalls
Three weeks ago, the third Gulf War started. And since that day, ordinary life for millions of people around the world — including us — has quietly started getting more expensive and more difficult. Let us understand why.
Everything begins with a tiny 54-kilometre-wide waterway called the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran. Think of it like a narrow gate between two rooms. Almost all the oil, gas, and goods from the Gulf countries pass through this one gate to reach the rest of the world. Now that gate is blocked. And the world is beginning to choke.
The Fuel Problem
On 16th March, the price of crude oil crossed $106 per barrel — the highest since Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022. Even Donald Trump released America's emergency oil reserves — the largest ever release — but traders are still not convinced the strait will reopen soon. About 10 to 15 percent of the world's oil supply is stuck.
Asian countries like India, China, Japan and Thailand are already cutting oil refinery production by 5 to 15 percent because the Gulf crude they are designed to process is simply not coming. The little oil that does arrive is the wrong type for their machines. Less production means less petrol, less diesel, less jet fuel — and higher prices at the pump for everyone.
Here is a scary number — if the blockade continues, countries in Africa may run out of jet fuel in just 23 days, Oceania in 36 days, and most of Asia in about 12 days. Some poorer nations have already started closing schools and cutting working days just to save fuel.
The Factory Problem
The Gulf is not just about oil. It supplies 24 percent of the world's aluminium — used in everything from milk packets to electric wires. The price of aluminium has jumped by ₹25,000 per tonne in just weeks. The Gulf also supplies nearly half the world's urea (fertiliser), a large portion of the plastics used in packaging, and critical chemicals used in making medicines — including the raw materials for aspirin and antibiotics.
India, being the world's largest maker of generic medicines, is directly affected. If these chemical raw materials stop arriving, medicine production slows down. Plastic companies in Asia have already declared "force majeure" — a legal term meaning "sorry, we simply cannot fulfil our contracts because the situation is beyond our control."
And then there is helium. Most people think helium is just for balloons. But it is actually used to cool the powerful magnets inside machines that make semiconductor chips — the tiny chips inside every phone, laptop, and car. Qatar used to supply one-third of the world's helium. That supply has now stopped. There is no easy backup.
The Food Problem
This is perhaps the most serious part. One-third of the world's fertiliser trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Countries like Kenya, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Tanzania get more than one-fourth of their fertiliser from the Gulf. Sudan gets more than half.
The price of urea has already jumped 35 percent since the war began. Sulphur, another crop nutrient, has risen 40 percent. The head of Yara, one of the world's biggest fertiliser companies, has warned this could be "catastrophic" for global food supply. In America, the agriculture minister has called it a "national security issue."
For farmers, the choice is brutal — pay double for fertiliser, use less and grow less, or wait and miss the planting season entirely. If fertiliser arrives late, it cannot help the 2026 harvest. Food that is not grown this season cannot be grown back next month.
What This Means For Us
We may not live near the Gulf. We may never have heard of the Strait of Hormuz before. But we will feel this — in rising petrol prices, costlier groceries, expensive medicines, and delayed goods. Even if the strait reopens tomorrow, experts say things will not return to normal quickly. Damaged refineries, broken factories, and cautious shipping companies will take months to restart.
This crisis is also a loud warning for every country — including India — to seriously rethink how deeply we depend on one single region for so many essential goods. True security means building alternative suppliers, stronger reserves, and smarter trade routes before the next crisis hits.
One small passage. One war. And slowly, the whole world is beginning to feel the heat.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
