Charu Sharma is an Indian sports commentator, compère, and quizmaster. As of 2022, he is appointed as the director of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League. In February 2022, he temporarily replaced Hugh Edmeades (British Auctioneer) as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auctioneer.
Table of Contents
Wiki/Biography
Charu Sharma was born in Uttar Pradesh. When he was a few months old, he shifted to Rajasthan along with his family. He did his schooling at Mayo College, Ajmer, Rajasthan. After completing his schooling, Charu enrolled himself at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, to pursue his graduation. Thereafter, he went to Davidson College, North Carolina, U.S., on a one-year scholarship program. Charu was offered his first job at Davidson College, however, he didn’t have much interest in academics and denied the job offer. Charu was good at sports in his school and college days. He excelled in rifle shooting and diving while at school. He is a trained swimmer. During an interview, talking about his early inclination towards sports, Charu said,
But diving was my forte and I became a national junior champ by the age of 11 and retired by 17.
In 1982, he represented India in swimming at the Asian Games. Sharma was a springboard diver in the international meet at the Asian Games.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Charu Sharma is the son of N. C. Sharma, who was an educationist. N. C. Sharma is the former Vice-Principal of Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He had also been the Principal of Birla Vidyamandir in Uttarakhand.
Wife
Charu Sharma is married to Anuja Sharma. Anuja is the sister of Anand Mahindra, the vice-chairman and managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra. Prior to their marriage, Anuja was working with a magazine, but she gave up her career after marrying Charu.
Career
After pursuing his scholarship program from Davidson College, North Carolina, Charu returned to India. In India, he started working at a tea company based in Delhi. He worked there for a couple of years and then relocated to Hyderabad, where he started working with a cigarette company. He found his calling with his commentaries after his participation in the 1982 Asian Games. Initially, he found it very hectic, moving from place to place, but after a while became a pro in it. He has around 20 years of rich and varied expertise in sportscasting with Indian television channels like Sony, MAX, ESPN, Star Sports, and Doordarshan.
Charu Sharma as a sports commentator
He is very popular for his television presentations on cricket with Mandira Bedi.
Charu Sharma with Mandira Bedi during a cricket presentation television show
In 2022, he replaced Hugh Edmeades temporarily as an auctioneer at the 2022 Indian Premier League auction. The replacement took place as Hugh the original auctioneer collapsed due to postural hypotension.
Charu Sharma during the 2022 IPL auction
Facts/Trivia
- He loves travelling in his leisure time.
- Charu met his life partner, Anuja, for the first time in Mumbai.
- As of 2022, Charu is residing in Bengaluru, Karnataka. During an interview, when asked about his decision to settle down in Bengaluru, Charu said,
My wife was instrumental in us moving here. Her family runs a small plantation in Coorg and we decided to move to Bangalore, so she could be close enough to supervise things.
- Charu has delivered many guest lectures on sports commentatory at various educational institutions. In November 2014, he delivered a lecture at MICA (formerly known as Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad). During his session, he talked about the insights which he had drawn from the vast repertoire of major international and national events that he has commentated on and presented, for various major television channels.
Charu Sharma delivering a lecture at MICA