Kasturi "Kass" Naidoo (born 1975 or 1976) is a South African cricket commentator. She was one of the first female cricket commentators in South Africa.

Biography edit

Born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, to a family with origins in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in India, Naidoo was inspired to pursue cricket commentary at the age of 14 after hearing Donna Symmonds, a West Indian commentator, commentating in South Africa.[1][2][3] She attended Durban University of Technology and earned a degree in journalism.[4]

Naidoo began her career as a journalist, working as a reporter for the Mercury newspaper in 1996.[4][5] She transitioned to television, making her debut as a host for the ICC World Cup coverage on South African national television in 2003.[4] Her international commentary debut occurred in 2006 at the Hong Kong Sixes.[6]

From 2008 to 2012, Naidoo worked for Cricket South Africa.[4] In 2021, she was part of Sky's coverage of The Hundred.[3] In 2023, she was included in the commentary panel of the 2023 Cricket World Cup.[7][8]

Over her career, Naidoo has commentated on both men's and women's cricket, including ICC global tournaments and T20 franchise tournaments.[6] She has hosted four World Cups for SABC Sport since 2003 and has been involved in the coverage of the India-South Africa tour.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "SA's first woman commentator, Kass Naidoo, continues to inspire with gsport4girls". ECR.
  2. ^ "Meet South Africa's first female cricket commentator Kasturi Naidoo". Mid-Day. 11 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b Ammon, Elizabeth (25 November 2023). "Kass Naidoo: If social media had been around then I would have been torn to pieces" – via The Times.
  4. ^ a b c d "PressReader". Sunday Tribune.
  5. ^ "About Kass".
  6. ^ a b c "My dream is to commentate in India: Kass Naidoo". Deccan Chronicle.
  7. ^ "South African broadcaster Kass Naidoo joins Cricket World Cup commentary panel". 4 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Kass Naidoo cricket commentator, 20 not out". Independent Online.