Originally Posted by Bhaveshgor:
“the only thing I don't understand is why would sky send their own team for 5 odi and 1 20/20, it does seem a waste of money.”
Well, I think they had quite a poor relationship with Nimbus - contracts often not signed until the last minute etc.
There is also a general feeling that the Indian commentary team are BCCI mouthpieces, as is indicated by Shastri and Gavaskar being on their payroll. Sky might feel that their viewers expect better than this, and hence wanted to use their own team, albeit limited to Lloyd, Botham, Knight, Allott and Manjrekar.
Things might be different this winter. I get the feeling that Star Cricket are an easier company to deal with, although it must be said that the BCCI influence on coverage remains clear.
Overall, I expect a similar arrangement to last summer's series in England - Hussain and Lloyd working for both, but both having their own teams.
On-site presentation would be preferable but history suggests this doesn't happen in Asia that often. Since I've had Sky they've only been on-site for the World Cup Final. I guess the provision of facilities is probably a part of this as Sky have always gone on-site in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.