“I was an ambitionless, drifting teenager,” cricket commentator, who has a habit of HYPING youngsters, schools Pakistani journalist

“I was an ambitionless, drifting teenager,” cricket commentator, who has a habit of HYPING youngsters, schools Pakistani journalist

PAK vs AUS U-19 World Cup semifinal (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop is commentating in the ongoing 2024 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. As he hypes a lot of youngsters after their decent performances, a Pakistani journalist criticized him for this habit. During the U-19 World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Bishop called youngster Ali Raza a “superstar” after he scalped four wickets.

On X, the Pakistani journalist cited the example of Carlos Brathwaite who guided West Indies to their second World Cup in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2016. The bishop, who was on air, said, ‘Remember the name‘.

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The Pakistani journalist, while criticizing Bishop for his commentary, wrote about how the West Indies great hyped up Brathwaite, but he ended up not making a name for himself in international cricket. Bishop reacted to the criticism by explaining the reason why he has the habit of calling youngsters stars or superstars.

The 56-year-old commenter said that during his early days, he was ambitionless, but praise from the seniors helped him do better and that’s why he will not stop showering praise on the youngster.

I was an ambitionless, drifting teenager when I first played senior cricket with Phil Simmons, against Marshall, Garner & later, Holding. I heard they'd said nice things about my game. That inspired me to believe in myself. I'll never stop passing that on to others.
Bishop wrote on X

Ian Bishop’s stats in international cricket

Ian Bishop played 43 Tests and 84 ODIs after making his debut in 1988 against England. He scalped 161 wickets and scored 632 runs in Tests, while in ODIs, he scalped 118 wickets and scored 405 runs.

Ian bishop
Ian Bishop (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Bishop also played 159 first-class cricket, picking up 549 wickets, and amassed 2639 runs. He played his last Test in 1998 against England, while his last ODI was against Pakistan in 1997.

After retiring from international cricket, Bishop became a successful TV commentator.

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