MUMBAI: The ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar will headline this week’s special two-part episode on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected that airs on Saturday, 25 April. The part one of the episode will be broadcasted at 7 pm and part two at 9 pm, which will be hosted by Jatin Sapru.

Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

Team India legends VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh along with former Australia pace machine Brett Lee have been roped in as the experts for this week’s episode. The growing popularity of the show in English and Hindi has urged Star Sports to introduce the show in its regional channels.

Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Kannada and Star Sports 1 Telugu are doing a lot to keep the channels engaging and entertaining for all cricket lovers.

Tendulkar will give a special sneak-peak on how he’s coping with life during the lockdown. The master blaster will dole out interesting tips on how he used to practice indoors and will also help the current crop of professional cricketers with priceless advice on how to stay mentally focussed during challenging times that COVID-19 has posed before the world.

Tendulkar, urging fans to stay indoors, said on Cricket Connected: “My fans wished well for me for many years. They encouraged me and they prayed for me. What did they pray for? That Sachin shouldn’t get out and I should be at the crease. My wish for them is that they should also not get out. They should also stay inside the crease which means indoors, safe, and healthy. If they are healthy and safe, then I am more than happy.”

Tendulkar, who ended his glorious career in 2013, also shed light on his fabled ‘Desert Storm’ innings against Australia in 1998 at Sharjah. The cricket legend had smashed 143 against a bowling attack featuring the likes of Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Michael Kasprowicz as temperatures reached a maximum of 41 degrees Celsius. Tendulkar also recalled some of his magic with the ball.

This episode of Cricket Connected will also see the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.s) players from the Indian Premier League being extended to fans via polls. Winners from the five categories – batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders, captain and coach – will be declared by popular choice. The episode will also give an insight into Team India captain Virat Kohli’s life during the lockdown.

Cricket Connected is an innovative concept by Star Sports to fill in the void left by the absence of live events. The show has proved to be that medium for fans to connect with their favourite experts. Each episode has segments that encourage fans to engage and interact with cricketing legends.

Segments such as #AskStar give fans an opportunity to share their favourite cricket moments by tweeting their questions using the hashtag for the legends to answer. There is also another segment, Kids Connected, which involves young fans and invites them to share home-made videos of them doing commentary.