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‘News to me’ – Confusion swirls around Herschelle Gibbs’ Lanka Premier League commentary stint

by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

Herschelle Gibbs was recently announced on social media as one of the commentators for the upcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL), only for the man himself to suggest it was the first he’d heard of it.

The former South Africa cricketer responded to a post, which stated that he was part of a six-team commentary panel for the upcoming T20 competition, that the development was “news to [him]”. To further confuse matters, the Twitter account he replied to was falsely claiming to be the official channel of the novel event, but he had also been announced as a commentator on the tournament’s official accounts.

Gibbs then became embroiled in an argument with Sri Lankan journalist Azzam Ameen after he and other users pointed that the South African had seemingly confirmed he would be appearing as a commentator in earlier social media posts.

Gibbs had retweeted a news article saying he was among the six-strong panel, and also responded to a post on Instagram reporting the same with a thumbs up emoji. Gibbs then explained how he had been in discussions to appear as a commentator, but hadn’t received confirmation even when the news broke, and was since told his services wouldn’t be required.

The LPL’s official Twitter account has now posted an updated graphic, with Gibbs’ name removed. However, at the time of writing, a graphic advertising Gibbs as a commentator is still live on their official Instagram page.

The LPL  begins on November 26.

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