Samannoy Ghosh’s journey from radio to the commentary booth

Knowing that sports was his passion, Samannoy Ghosh wanted to pursue it no matter what. Today, the multifaceted RJ and host is a promising name in the world of sports, with his appearances as a commentator on national television earning much praise.

In a candid conversation, Samannoy opened up about his journey as an RJ, his interaction with great names from sports, and how his dream came true when he got to visit the famous Lord's Cricket Ground, London.

Samannoy's journey as an RJ began in 2000 when he was called for an audition for "Radio Metrowave". He applied for the post when he was in the seventh grade, and got selected. His first radio show was "Close up top hits", where he got to interview famous bands such as Black, Artcell, Cryptic Fate, and many more.

"My most memorable incident has to be the Black interview with Tahsan and Jon Kabir. As I went to the studio straight with my uniform on, they were completely shocked that a school kid was going to interview them. The expressions on their faces were priceless," added Samannoy.

After that, he moved to ABC Radio in 2010, where he worked for 11 years. During his time there, he interviewed popular bands like Warfaze, rock icon Ayub Bachchu and International artistes Richard Marx and Liz Mitchell, among many others.

Samannoy grew up wanting to be a cricketer. His father, a former national-level footballer, inspired him to fall in love with sports.

"I used to go to Rafa's (Raef Al Hasan Rafa) studio to practice my commentary, and I would send the recordings to various channels," he says. "I got a call from Channel 9 for Bangladesh Premiere League (BPL) coverage in 2016, and the rest was history."

Samannoy worked with the likes of Danny Morrison, Athar Ali Khan and Shamim Ashraf Chowdhury in BPL 2016

In 2018, he went for rigorous training for commentary training from an established ICC events broadcaster. The following year, he was one of the commentators for the Emerging teams Asia cup which was broadcasted on star sports.

His T20 International commentary debut of Bangladesh vs New Zealand became a memorable experience for him as he got to witness Bangladesh winning the fantastic series. Samannoy also revealed that he interviewed some popular faces in Bangladeshi cricket, including Mustafizur Rahman, Mahmudullah Riyad, and Mashrafe Mortaza.

Apart from cricket commentary, he also did commentary for a FIFA-friendly football match between Bangladesh and Nepal that was shown live on the T-sports channel.

Samannoy also hosted the player's draft for the 2019 Bangabandhu BPL.

Samannoy has become a popular face in the arena of cricket commentary in a short span of time. Yet, he feels he has a long way to go.

"Athar Ali Khan and Shamim Ashraf Chowdhury are both legends of the Bangladesh Commbox. It is a blessing to be able to work with them. I still have loads to learn from them, and improve myself."

Samannoy added that he hopes to represent Bangladesh at World Cups and Lord's Cricket Ground. 

The author is Reporter, Arts & Entertainment, The Daily Star. Email: rakshanda.rahman@thedailystar.net.