>Arularasan. G at 13:48, 24 December 2020

2020-12-24T13:48:22Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Sathankulam. M. Abdul Jabbar
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = M. Abdul Jabbar
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1939|6|26}}
| death_date = 22/12/2020
| birth_place = [[Sathankulam]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| occupation = Media personality, writer
| language = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| nationality = [[India]]n
| period = 1951 - 2020
| subject = Literature, philosophy, religion, sports
| notableworks =
| website =
| spouse =
| children =
}}

'''S. M. Abdul Jabbar''' (26 June 1939<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dtnext.in/News/Sports/2020/12/23002229/1267744/Popular-Tamil-commentator-Abdul-Jabbar-passes-away.vpf|title=Popular Tamil commentator Abdul Jabbar passes away|publisher=dtnext.in|date=23 December 2020|accessdate=23 December 2020|archiveurl=https://archive.is/NvzxN|archivedate=23 December 2020}}</ref> - 22 December 2020) is a [[Tamil language|Tamil]] radio broadcaster, cricket commentator, writer and actor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.viruba.com/atotalbooks.aspx?id=334|title=காற்று வெளியினிலே|accessdate=29 June 2018}}</ref>

==Early life==
S. M. Abdul Jabbar was born into a middle class Muslim family and grew up in the small town of [[Sathankulam]], presently in [[Thoothukudi district]] in the state of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. Having relatives in [[Sri Lanka]], he relocated to [[Colombo]] for his higher studies at [[Zahira College, Colombo]]. After completing his education he moved back to India due to the tense [[Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism|political situation]] in Sri Lanka.

== Radio and cricket commentary ==
Born in the [[Golden Age of Radio]], Jabbar became a regular radio listener during his childhood in India and Sri Lanka. He often wrote letters to radio stations about their programs. On one occasion, he wrote a letter to [[All India Radio]] that was critical of its [[Tamil language]] cricket commentary. The letter was read on air, and he was invited to show his skill by providing Tamil commentary of the [[Ranji Trophy]] match between [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kerala]]. The opportunity changed his life{{how|date=February 2020}}.

Abdul Jabbar already had considerable experience anchoring Tamil programs for the [[Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation]] when he joined the AIR [[Chennai]] Tamil commentary team in 1979.<ref name="WI"/> He learned substantially from commentating with Tamil radio pioneer and cricket writer V Ramamurthy. The AIR Tamil commentary team covered every [[Test cricket|test match]] and [[one day international]] played in Chennai, and many of the regional matches. Jabbar's commentary remained popular through the 1990s,<ref>{{cite news|work=The Indian Express|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/in-search-of-the-beginnings-of-chepauks-walajah-road-end-4850065/|access-date=4 July 2018|date=19 September 2017|title=India vs Australia: In search of beginnings of Chepauk’s Walajah Road End|first=Sandip|last=G}}</ref> with a fan base in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka that included [[LTTE]] supremo [[Velupillai Prabhakaran]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/tamil/en/audiotrack/prabhakarans-appreciation-was-best-award-received-life|title=Prabhakaran’s appreciation was the best award received in life|accessdate=29 June 2018}}</ref> whom he interviewed in 2002.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Tamil Muslims and the Dravidian Movement: Alliance and Contradictions|first=S|last=Anwar|title=Frontiers of Embedded Muslim Communities in India|isbn=9781136196805|location=London|publisher=Routledge India|pages=199–200|year=2011|editor-first=Vinod K.|editor-last=Jairath}}</ref> The AIR Tamil commentary team was disbanded in 2004, after which Abdul Jabbar continued providing Tamil commentary for the [[television channels]] [[ESPN]], [[Neo Sports]], [[Sun TV (India)|Sun TV]] and [[Zee TV|Zee]].<ref name="WI">{{cite web|url=https://www.wisdenindia.com/almanack-2015/languages-cricket-english-effect/179416|title=Languages of cricket – The English effect|publisher=Wisden India|access-date=4 July 2018|date=10 September 2015|first=Badri|last=Seshadri}}</ref>

== Death ==
Abdul Jabbar died on 22 December 2020 due to cardiac arrest. He was 81.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uniindia.com/news/sports/popular-tamil-cricket-commentator-abdul-jabbar-passes-away/2271104.html|title=Popular Cricket commentator Abdul Jabbar passes away|work=uniindia.com|date=23 December 2020|accessdate=23 December 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222140828/http://www.uniindia.com/news/sports/popular-tamil-cricket-commentator-abdul-jabbar-passes-away/2271104.html|archivedate=22 December 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabbar, S M Abdul}}
[[Category:Tamil-language writers]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Indian sports broadcasters|Cricket commentators]]
[[Category:Indian cricket commentators]]

S. M. Abdul Jabbar - Revision history

>Arularasan. G at 13:48, 24 December 2020