Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma has slammed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 broadcasters, Star Sports, for recording private conversations between the players, calling it a breach of privacy.
Sharma, who will lead India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, stated that common sense should prevail as the need to get exclusive may one day break the bond between fans, cricketers and cricket.
The 37-year-old posted on his X, formerly Twitter, account where he raised the issue, saying that the lives of cricketers were surrounded by cameras at every step.
“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,” Sharma posted on X.
“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.”
Sharma’s post came days after his private conversations with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar went viral on social media.
A while ago, the former MI skipper had also requested Star Sports to disable the audio while having cameras towards him as he was chatting with his teammate.
“Brother, please close the audio, one audio has already made things difficult for me," said Rohit in the clip recorded by Star Sports.
Remember, Sharma was replaced by Hardik Pandya as the captain of MI before the IPL 2024 began but the decision wasn’t welcomed by the fans as the 30-year-old had to encounter a hostile environment in several stadiums.
The five-time IPL winners finished at the bottom of the IPL points table with just four wins in 14 matches. Pandya was booed by the Wankhede crowd throughout the season and his individual performance was a matter of concern as well.
- Rohit Sharma