Jatin Sapru is an Indian TV sports journalist, television host, broadcaster, and cricket commentator who is employed with the Star Sports network. He is a leading face of cricket-related broadcast on the various TV channels of the Star Sports network.
Wiki/Biography
Jatin Sapru was born on Tuesday, 8 April 1986 (age 37 years; as of 2023) in Kashmir, India. His zodiac sign is Aries. Jatin Sapru’s family, who was leading a comfortable life in Kashmir, fled from Kashmir in the early 90s due to the outbreak of terrorism in the valley and settled in Delhi.
Jatin Sapru (left) with his younger brother in Srinagar in 1994
Jatin grew up in Delhi and completed his schooling at Ryan International School in 2003. He desired to do something in literature and theatre; however, he was pushed into doing engineering by his father, who wanted Jatin to take up a government job and lead a secure life. After appearing for the first year exams, Jatin took a stand for himself and eventually dropped out from his B.Tech course. He then attained a degree in journalism and mass communication from Jagannath International Management School (JIMS), Vasant Kunj, and embarked on his career in the field of journalism.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Jatin Sapru posing on a racing track in the Czech Republic
Family & Caste
Jatin Sapru belongs to a Kashmiri Pandit family.
Parents & Siblings
Jatin Sapru’s grandfather served as the vice principal at Kashmir University. His father is an engineer while his mother, Suman Sapru, is a homemaker.
Jatin Sapru’s parents
Jatin Sapru with his mother
He has a younger brother named Aditya Sapru.
Jatin Sapru with his younger brother, Aditya Sapru
Wife & Daughter
Jatin Sapru married Lara Sinha, a former journalist, on 12 December 2015. It was a love marriage.
Jatin Sapru with his wife on their wedding day
The couple has a daughter named Inaaya (born in 2018).
Jatin Sapru with his wife and daughter
Career
Nascent Phase
During the last year of his college, Sapru interned at a reputed institution in Washington DC called The Presidential Classroom for three months (February 2006 – April 2006). During his internship, he got to work as a media and communication assistant, handling media releases and journals for more than a thousand students taking part from around the globe and organising seminars for participants at respected institutions such as the IMF. He also worked closely with various senators and heads of departments during the course of his internship at The Presidential Classroom. The initial phase of Jatin Sapru’s career was filled with hardships. Before getting a permanent job through his journalism degree, Sapru did odd jobs to manage his daily expenses. He distributed pamphlets in public, ran teleprompters for news channels, and clicked pictures at fashion shows. He was humiliated and rejected on several occasions while interviewing for a job at news channels. In an interview, Jatin narrated one such incident where he could not even enter a news channel premises, and a guard stationed outside the office tore apart his resume and threw it in the dustbin. It was disheartening for young Jatin to face situations like these, and it came to the point that he thought to give up the career and look for other career options; however, he held on. In October 2006, he got employed at a digital content management company, Tangerine Digital, while still pursuing his college graduation. During his stint at Tangerine Digital as a content writer and digital commentator, he wrote scripts for sports content and did digital commentating for Mobile ESPN.
The Breakthrough
Jatin was earning a monthly salary of Rs. 6500 while working at Tangerine Digital, and his future looked vague. He did not aspire to become a TV presenter, but it was a lucky coincidence that one of his colleagues urged him to audition for the second season of ESPN Dream Job (2007), a national-level talent hunt for a sports presenter. Not only did he get through the audition, but he also ended up winning the contest.
(Left-Right) Jatin Sapru, Lara Sinha (Sapru’s wife), and Siddharth Mishra (sports anchor) posing during ESPN Dream Job show in 2007
Association with ESPN
Jatin signed a contract with ESPN sports in 2008 and has remained associated with the company since then. He started his job with ESPN as a television presenter and, with passaging time, he evolved into a fine sports commentator. More than a decade old in the industry, Jatin Sapru has hosted matches in big international cricket tournaments alongside the game’s legends. He is one of the most recognised cricket presenters who haven’t played cricket in a professional capacity.
Controversy
Although Sapru is the type of person who likes to remain away from controversies, he once landed in hot water after he purportedly mocked former Pakistani pace legend Shoaib Akhtar during a post-match discussion show in 2016. The incident took place after team India defeated Pakistan in a match of 2016 ICC World Twenty20, and Jatin Sapru burst into a fit of giggles before posing a question to Akhtar. It resulted in Rawalpindi Express losing his cool. Akhtar responded to Jatin Sapru and said,
First you tell me, why were you laughing just now? You are sitting here to ask my opinion or ridicule me? You can’t call me to the studio and make fun of me”
The incident annoyed cricket fans in India and across the border in Pakistan who termed Sapru’s behaviour as completely unprofessional.
After the controversy grew bigger, Jatin issued his part of the explanation about the incident saying that his chuckle was taken completely out of context by the viewers and he actually had no intention to insult Shoaib Akhtar, whom he considers as an elder brother to him.
Favourite Things
Stadium (in terms of beauty): Newlands cricket ground (South Africa)
Stadium (in terms of covering the game): The Lord’s cricket ground and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bangalore)
Cricket Match: 2011 Cricket World Cup Final
Holiday Destination: London
Co-host: Mayanti Langer
Cricketer: Rahul Dravid
Style of food: Italian
Facts/Trivia
- Jatin Sapru is a huge superhero fan and has posters of various superheroes on the walls of his house. When asked about which superpower he would choose if he gets a chance to possess one, Sapru said, “To go invisible.”
- Although Sapru never thought of taking up cricket as a profession, he used to play cricket for his school team in Delhi.
Jatin Sapru with his school cricket coach
- In the urge to experience the hardships faced by journalists in their work, Jatin Sapru, during his college days, used to attend various media events carrying his forged press card. While attending these press events, he realised that the job of a journalist is actually challenging.
- Jatin’s mother fondly calls him by the name Minx, while his friends call him J.
- During an interview with The Hindu, Jatin Sapru told about the best compliment he has received for his work in his entire career. He said,
Once, during an IPL match, a little kid in Bangalore came running to me and he was like, are you Jatin Sapru? So, I was like yes I am and he went back running to his mother, saying, see I told you. And then he came up to me again and asked, Can I take a picture with you? I want to be like you. I think that kid just made my life.”
- During an interview with The Hindu, Jatin Sapru gave a piece of advice to youngsters aspiring to become television presenters. He said,
Don’t aspire to be one in the first place. I always wanted to be around sports, which is why I wouldn’t be frustrated even when I was earning a pittance. Before being a presenter, you need to learn all the roles required in production. You need to master both the language you broadcast in and the content. But don’t do it for the fame, do it only because you are passionate about your field.”
- Jatin Sapru was in class 5 when he watched a game of cricket for the first time. It was an India-Zimbabwe match his father had forced him to watch. When asked about his fondest childhood cricket memory, Jatin said,
It is of India beating Australia in the 2001 test series. My Class X board exams were on, and that was the day Harbhajan took the hat-trick. I finished my exam and forced my father to break all traffic rules because I wanted to make it home in time to watch the match.”
- Jatin says that he is so fond of his job that he doesn’t feel tired even if he has to work for 15 long hours a day because he would spend that day with the legends of cricket.
Jatin Sapru with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh at the Lord’s Cricket Ground
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
