Former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma‘s tweet slamming the IPL broadcasters went viral in a fraction of a second.
Earlier this month, Rohit Sharma’s controversial chat with KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar spread like wildfire on social media and forced KKR to remove it.
Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar had a friendly chat during the practice session which was captured and released by the KKR. The video went viral in a very short period of time as Rohit was seen expressing his displeasure over the captaincy change.
In another video, Rohit was seen asking the broadcasters not to record the audio of him having a chat with former Mumbai Indians star Dhawal Kulkarni.
Post the incident Rohit Sharma posted a tweet on his official X handle which reads as “The lives of cricketers have become so intrusive that cameras are now recording every step and conversation we are having in privacy with our friends and colleagues, at training or on match days.
Despite asking Star Sports to not record my conversation, it was and was also then played on air, which is a breach of privacy. The need to get exclusive content and focused only on views and engagement will one day break the trust between the fans, cricketers and cricket. Let better sense prevail”.
Here is the context
Rohit Sharma said – bhai yaar, audio band kar Bhai, ek audio ne to mera waat laga diya hain (please mute the audio, one audio got me in trouble)
And Star sports broadcast this too. pic.twitter.com/og22vr9xRW— TATA IPL 2024 Commentary #IPL2024 (@TATAIPL2024Club) May 19, 2024
Replying to this, the broadcasters stated that they didn’t air the audio of any personal conversation involving the senior star.
“A clip involving a senior Indian player and his post on social media have gained prominence since yesterday. The clip, taken during a training session on May 16 at Wankhede stadium, for which Star Sports had authorised access, momentarily showed the senior player in conversation with his friends on the sidelines,” Star Sports stated.
“No audio from this conversation was either recorded or broadcast. The clip, which only showed the senior player requesting for the audio of his conversation to not be recorded, got featured in Star Sports’ live coverage of pre-match preparations and lacked editorial relevance beyond this,” it added.
Meanwhile, Rohit on Sunday lashed out at Star Sports for not breaching privacy despite his request of not recording the audio. He warned that airing private conversations could “break the trust” among the various stakeholders, making his stance clear on the matter.
“Star Sports has always adhered to the highest standards of professional conduct while broadcasting cricket all over the world. Respect for players’ privacy while bringing fans, moments of intense action and preparations, sits at the core of this ethos, which the broadcaster remains committed to,” Star Sports concluded.
Rohit while playing under the new captain this season scored 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150. He hit a century and fifty, with the best score of 105*. With just four wins in 14 matches, Mumbai ended up at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table.
