Commentator Arun, Ramji do their bit via Insta shows

Via his Instagram Live series ‘Homerun with AV’, which has thus far featured cricketers like Dinesh Karthik, Mithali Raj, Russel Arnold and Brad Hogg, Arun distributed cash prizes worth a total of Rs 10,000 to viewers who turned up with ‘quality’ questions during the sessions.

“Initially, I was looking at some kind of brand collaboration with Ramji for my shows. I have known him well personally over the years. During my free time, I usually train at his centre. Out of the blue, I called him on a weekend and asked if there is any scope for brand integration,” Arun told DT Next.

“The only way I could reward the audience was by giving away prizes to those who asked good questions to the guests. Ramji told me that awarding cash prizes would be a good option as a lot of people are running short of money because of the coronavirus crisis. I was touched by his gesture. For 10 of our shows, we handed Rs 1,000 each,” he added.

As there is no imminent live sporting action lined up in India, Arun, associated with Star Sports for the last two years, is doing everything in his power to engage and entertain fans all across the country. The Tamil-Nadu based presenter has so far rolled out shows in five different languages (Tamil English, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam), with a team of three closely working alongside him.

“The posters for my series are designed by Samyuktha Vasudevan, who is an architect by trade. Our editor, Syed Rasheen, is a hotel management graduate.

Cricket journalist Deivarayan Muthu, a good friend of mine, takes care of the research part. Some of my team members are not even avid cricket followers but help me out because they enjoy the process,” said Arun, who is determined on delivering valuable and insightful content.

Apart from current India internationals such as Hanuma Vihari, Vijay Shankar and Karthik, international stars like Arnold (Sri Lanka), Hogg (Australia) and Sam Billings (England) have graced the ‘Homerun with AV’ series. “When I put in a request, the foreign players readily accepted. With their presence, I have been able to cater to a larger group of audience. We have had a global appeal, with guests from various parts of India and the world.”

The series, which began in April, will celebrate a mini milestone on Sunday — its 25th show — with West Indies Test team captain Jason Holder being the special guest.

“This is a small victory for our team. However, we are looking to go beyond 25 shows,” stated Arun, who also does cinema-based shows for Kavithalayaa Productions.