Charu Sharma is an Indian sports commentator, pundit and quizzer. From 2022, he was appointed as the director of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League. In February 2022, he temporarily replaced Hugh Edmeades (British auctioneer) as auctioneer of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 (for one and a half days) after Hugh passed out on stage due to postural hypotension.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Charu Sharma was born in Uttar Pradesh. When he was a few months old, he moved to Rajasthan with his family. He did his schooling at Mayo College, Ajmer, Rajasthan. After graduation, Charu joined St. Stephen’s College, Delhi to complete his graduation. After that, he went to Davidson College, North Carolina, USA, on a one-year scholarship program. Charu was offered his first job at Davidson College, but he had little interest in academics and declined the job offer. Charu was good at sports during his school and college days. While studying at school, he excelled in rifle shooting and diving. He is a trained swimmer. During an interview, talking about his early inclination towards the sport, Charu said,
But diving was my forte and I became national junior champion at 11 and retired at 17.
In 1982, he represented India in swimming at the Asian Games. Sharma was the springboard diver at the international meet at the Asian Games.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′7″
Hair color: black
Eye color: dark brown
family
parents and siblings
Charu Sharma is the son of NC Sharma who was an educationist. NC Sharma is the former Vice Principal of Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He was also the principal of Birla Vidyamandir in Uttarakhand. Not much is known about the mother. He has a younger sister.
wife
Charu Sharma is married to Anuja Sharma. Anuja is the sister of Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra. Before their marriage, Anuja was working with a magazine but left her career after marrying Charu.
Career
After pursuing a scholarship program at Davidson College in North Carolina, Charu returned to India. In India, he started working for a tea company based in Delhi. He worked there for a few years and then moved to Hyderabad where he started working with a cigarette company. He found his calling with his commentary after participating in the 1982 Asian Games. At first, he found it very stressful, moving from place to place, but after some time he became a professional. He subsequently hosted many sporting events and in 1993 joined ESPN as a lead anchor. His contract with ESPN ended in 2001. In an interview with ESPN about his tenure, Charu Sharma said,
I worked with them 120 days a year and the rest of the time I was free to see my family. I played a lot of sports for them and was paid dearly for my efforts.”
When asked why he decided to leave ESPN, he said:
I wish I had a reasonable answer as to why they decided to terminate my contract. I didn’t think I had a chemistry problem with anyone. But there was a new gentleman who joined the organization and things were not working.
He has around 20 years of experience in sports broadcasting with Indian television channels such as Sony, MAX, ESPN, Star Sports and Doordarshan.
Charu Sharma during a sports tournament
He is very popular for television presentations on cricket along with Mandira Bedi.
Charu Sharma with Mandira Bedi during a cricket presentation TV show
Charu was the CEO of the T20 cricket team ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’ in the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he was asked to resign due to the team’s poor performance. Royal Challengers officials said Charu had resigned while Sharma said he had been fired by United Breweries Limited on behalf of team owner Vijay Mallya.
Charu Sharma as sports commentator
Charu Sharma, along with Anand Mahindra, founded one of India’s leading sports tournaments, the Pro Kabaddi League, in 2014 through their company Marshal Sports. The league is played in eight cities in a caravan format, traveling to all eight venues for 60 matches. Sharma is also the director of Marshal Sports. Star India later acquired 74% stake in Mashal Sports.
Charu Sharma at Vivi Pro Kabbadi League 2022 press conference
Apart from being an athlete, he is also a quiz show host and has hosted several TV shows and events. It mainly hosts award shows, corporate events and seminars. In 2018, he was invited to Bahrain to improve his cricket. It hosted the Coca-Cola Bahrain Premier League Quiz Final.
Charu Sharma hosts Bahrain Premier League Quiz 2018
In 2022, he temporarily replaced Hugh Edmeades as the auctioneer for the 2022 Indian Premier League auction. The replacement came after Hugh, the original auctioneer, collapsed with postural hypotension. He conducted the auction after lunch on the first day and continued the auction until the last session on the second day. Edmeads then continued the auction.
Charu Sharma during the 2022 IPL auction
confrontations
- In 2008, Charu was sacked as the CEO of Indian Premier League (IPL) Royal Challengers Bangalore Twenty20 cricket team. While Charu blamed Vijay Mallya and United Breweries Limited, team officials claimed that Sharma himself had resigned. During an interview, when asked about the controversy, he said:
I think I worked very hard for this, probably the hardest. Several matches were lost before and so were the heads. I like to believe I was in the pressure cooker steam line waiting to be released. ”
- In 2022, during the Indian Premier League auction, he created a big mistake and gifted Khalil Ahmed (cricketer) to Delhi Capitals despite the highest bid being made by Mumbai Indians. According to reports, during the auction, Mumbai Indians offered 500 GEL for the player. 5.25 crore and subsequently, Delhi Capitals increased the bid to Rs. 5.5 million. However, the team immediately supported the proposal. This caused confusion in Charu who sold Khalil to Delhi Capitals for Rs. 5.25 million.
Facts/Trivia
- He likes to travel in his free time. Charu also likes to play golf in his spare time.
- Charu first met his life partner Anuja in Mumbai.
- As of 2022, Charu lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka. During an interview, when asked about his decision to finally settle in Bengaluru, Charu said:
My wife played an important role in us moving here. His family runs a small plantation in Coorg and we decided to move to Bangalore so he would be close enough to oversee things.
- Charu has delivered numerous guest lectures on sports commentary at various educational institutions. In November 2014, he delivered a lecture at MICA (formerly Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad). In the session, he spoke about the insights he has gleaned from a large repertoire of major international and national events that he has commented on and presented for various major television channels.
Charu Sharma is delivering a guest lecture at MICA in November 2014
- Charu qualified for the 1978 Commonwealth Games before becoming an athlete. During the interview, talking about the same, he said:
I was champion for seven years from the age of 11. I can safely say that later I fell into the top three in the country, the first two were from the army and they are supporting me. I qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 1978 but had to give up because I had to go at my own expense. I learned well in the sport of diving and quit at the age of 19! There wasn’t much to do there. I was also a first division cricketer in Kolkata. His broadcasting career began and took off after the country liberalized and more networks started in the 90s.
- During the interview, Charu revealed that it was not just the unfortunate fall of auctioneer Hugh Edmides that gave him the opportunity to conduct the 2022 IPL auction, but the injury he sustained in Kathmandu (Nepal) that gave him the opportunity. She said,
I landed in Kathmandu, where I was in the cricket league auction, and injured my shoulder. It rained a little and I fell in the place where I was sitting. I have been at home doing physical therapy for weeks; If it weren’t for that fall, I’d be on the golf course playing—it’s my hobby these days, and I spend hours on the golf course—and I wouldn’t have access to my phone. And Brijesh Patel could not come before me.”
He also revealed that he was on his way to lunch when he got a call from Brijesh Patel, chairman of the IPL governing body, asking him to come to the auction venue. patel said
Just dress up and come to ITC Gardenia. Let’s do this.”
Categories: Cricket
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
