An alleged video of ex-Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has been going viral on social media, provoking a new discussion regarding the standards of Hindi cricket commentary.

The brief footage that has been popularly uploaded on such websites as Reddit and X seems to depict Chopra addressing negative feedback on his Hindi commentary.

In the viral video, Chopra is allegedly quoted as saying that he thinks it could be a PR-led campaign against him for the manner in which he delivers Hindi commentary. He opines that many Twitter handles do not tweet anything related to cricket.

It also appears that he requests the viewers to give authentic feedback about the extent and quality of his Hindi commentary.

However, there is one important fact that drew the audience’s attention: the viral clip does not appear on any of the official feeds that Chopra possesses (until now), including his verified social media profiles or on his YouTube feed. That is why it is not evident that the clip is original, edited or out of context. Chopra has also officially not verified the source of the clip.

The discussion in the online world has been expanding at an alarming rate, even though it is unclear whether the video is real.

Is Internet schooling Aakash Chopra for the level of Hindi Commentary?

Since the clip went viral, numerous users on Reddit and X started to talk about the Hindi commentary style used by Chopra. Some of the posts and comment threads contain users dissatisfied with his choice of language, dramatic phrasing, and commentary style, and asserted that it is lowering the quality of Hindi commentary of cricket broadcasts.

Some users opined that Hindi commentary should be more traditional, like in the case of the English language broadcast, while others opined that the commentary of Chopra is too dramatic and wordplay. Both platforms have since been flooded with memes, clips, and opinion threads, further adding fuel to the discussion.

Meanwhile, some of the fans also come to the defence of Chopra, who they claim has made Hindi broadcasts more interesting and approachable to the younger audience.

Real or Fake? Debate Continues

Unless Chopra responds to the video, the legitimacy of the video cannot be verified. But the online debate around his Hindi commentary shows no signs of slowing down.

Chopra has been doing Hindi Language commentary since 2013 and has commentary style has often been criticized in the past, too.