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Nikhil Uttamchandani
Nikhil Jay Uttamchandani (born October 11th, 2001) is a Barbadian cricket commentator, presenter, and sport journalist. Born in St. Michael, Barbados to Guyanese and Barbadian parents, his family is of Indian descent. He is an alumnus of Harrison College and Queen’s College and became a Barbados Exhibition Awardee in 2020. This resulted in a scholarship to attend Toronto Metropolitan University where he subsequently was awarded the Scott Moore Award for Excellence in Sport Media. Uttamchandani is referred to as the “voice of modern cricket” with a growing fanbase in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

Career
At the age of 12, Uttamchadani began his commentary journey at the Wanderers Cricket Club. The club has a track record of producing accomplished cricketers like Ian Bradshaw, Kirk Edwards, Jason Holder and Kraigg Brathwaite to name a few, as one of the oldest cricket clubs in Barbados along with cricket commentator Tony Cozie r who also was his idol. In 2017, at age 16 he was introduced as a panelist for the regional cricket radio show ‘Mason and Guests’, a role he held for two years.

In 2019, he was announced as Public Relations Officer for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) outfit Barbados Tridents (Barbados Royals). In 2020, cricket legend Ian Bishop introduced him during one of the preliminary matches, providing him with an opportunity to commentate to the international television audience. Since, world-acclaimed commentator Harsha Bhogle spoke to his tremendous talent and promise on a Twitter thread, a social media platform which he developed a credible listenership to his popular Twitter Spaces interviews which included cricketer Carlos Brathwaite, and journalists like ESPN Cricinfo’s Matt Roller and Cricbuzz’s Jarrod Kimber.

Uttamchandani has since commentated on cricket tournaments across the United States including the new, highly regarded Toyota Minor League aired on Willow TV, as well as tournaments in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and even recently at the Cool & Smooth T20 in Antigua.

His debut, solo radio career came during South Africa’s tour of the West Indies with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The show “On the Ball”  featured prominent guests Dr. The Most Honorable Desmond Haynes, Ian Bradshaw, and Franklyn Stephenson.

Barbados TODAY, premiered an exclusive sit-down interview hosted by Nikhil Uttamchandani and former West Indies captain Jason Holder on 27th February 2022. The one-hour interview was carried by several media houses across the region for Holder’s comments about his dismissal as test captain which happened abruptly.

Uttamchandani is currently a regional cricket correspondent for SportsMax as well as Barbados Today.