E-Paper
Sundar Pichai joins Ravi Shastri in commentary box during India South Africa T20 World Cup clash
Sundar Pichai joined Ravi Shastri for commentary during India’s T20 World Cup match.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made a special appearance at India’s Super 8 clash against South Africa at the ICC T20 World Cup, held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The global tech leader was seen in conversation with former India head coach Ravi Shastri during the highly anticipated encounter, drawing significant attention both inside the stadium and online.
Ahead of the match, Pichai joined Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar to unveil the ICC T20 World Cup trophy. The duo later carried the trophy onto the field.
ICC chairman Jay Shah also marked the occasion by presenting a memento to Pichai. Sharing photographs from the moment on X, Shah wrote: "It is a pleasure for @ICC to host Google and Alphabet CEO @sundarpichai at India and South Africa's #T20WorldCup match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Our partnership with @GoogleIndia continues to grow our sport across and bring fans closer to the game than ever."
Take a look here at the post:
South Africa post competitive total
On the field, South Africa delivered a strong batting performance, finishing at 187 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. David Miller led the charge with a powerful 63 off 35 balls, while Dewald Brevis contributed 45 from 29 deliveries. Tristan Stubbs added late momentum with an unbeaten 44 off 24 balls, helping the Proteas cross the 180 mark.
The final over proved expensive for India as Hardik Pandya conceded 20 runs. Stubbs struck a boundary on the third delivery before ending the innings with two consecutive sixes, giving South Africa a commanding total.
AI Summit appearance draws online buzz
Pichai’s cricket outing followed closely after his visit to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, which generated widespread attention on social media. A video shared on Instagram by a user named Priyanshu captured Pichai walking alongside officials at the summit venue when attendees began chanting “Sundar”.
Noticing the cheers, Pichai turned towards the crowd, smiled and waved, acknowledging supporters with a brief yet warm gesture that quickly went viral online.
Watch the clip here:
The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held from February 16 to 20, focused on leveraging artificial intelligence for shared global growth. The five day event centred on three key pillars: People, Planet and Progress.
