Manish Bhasin

Manish Dev Bhasin (born 21 May 1976 in Leicester, UK^[1]) is a sports journalist and presenter currently working for the BBC as presenter of The Football League Show.

Early career

Bhasin graduated in 1997 from Anglia Ruskin University with a degree in "Communication Studies with English" and completed a diploma in "Broadcast Journalism" at Cardiff University. He spent five years at BBC Radio Leicester as sports presenter/commentator including the drive time "Drive at 5" programme presenting the latest news and sport. During this period his highlights include reporting from Leicester Tigers' last minute victory in the 2001 Rugby European Cup final (Leicester Tigers v. Stade Francais) and the following year at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium (Leicester Tigers v Munster).

Bhasin joined ITV's Central News East in 2001, where he presented in-depth coverage of the region's essential sport, including a comprehensive analysis of the financial crisis at Leicester City. During his tenure Bhasin was nominated for "Regional Sports Presenter or Commentator of the Year" at the Royal Television Society Sport Awards and presented Soccer Sunday.^[2]

BBC

In February 2004, Bhasin joined BBC's Football Focus team, a weekly magazine style show that previews the weekend's top football action. At the start of the following season, he became the main presenter of the show, replacing Ray Stubbs to become the show's youngest regular host at the age of 27.

In addition to his football roles on Football Focus and now The Football League Show, Bhasin has emerged as the BBC's primary cricket presenter, hosting highlights of the 2006–07 Ashes Series, the 2007 World Cup, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 tournament and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He also presented highlights of the Africa Cup of Nations 2006 on BBC Three and combined his duties as the presenter of Football Focus with a roving reporter's role during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Bhasin has also presented "Your News" on the BBC News Channel in addition to presenting on the channel for a week in February 2008.

Bhasin made a return to the BBC News Channel on 24 July 2008 and now appears to be one of the many regular stand-in news presenters on the channel. At the start of the 2009–10 English football season, Bhasin was chosen to present the BBC's new Football League highlights package. From January 2010 onwards, he also become presenter for the Midlands edition of the regional football show Late Kick Off.

Bhasin is a supporter of Leicester City.^[3]

References