Star Sports fires back at Rohit Sharma’s privacy breach accusations with blunt rebuttal

Official IPL broadcaster Star Sports has come up with a clarification on the tweet that was shared by Rohit Sharma in the context of his private interaction getting leaked.

Rohit Sharma did not really like the way his chat with Abhishek Nair was shared and the way in which it was circulated all over social media platforms in a video shared by KKR's social media team.

Prior to MI's final game of the season against LSG, Rohit was involved in a chat with some of his cricketing circuit friends including Dhawal Kulkarni. When he saw the broadcast team was recording his chat, he requested the team not to record any audio and only that portion of the video was broadcast during one of the pre-match shows, and the video was then circulated on social media by a number of users. It prompted the Indian captain to take to X (formerly Twitter) and break his silence on the matter, which is quite sensitive for the player himself.

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What did Rohit Sharma say?

What had happened was that Rohit Sharma was having a word with his friends in the stands of Wankhede at some point of time in IPL 2024. During the conversation, the Mumbai Indians batter reportedly asked the broadcast team to not record anything related to it but despite that, it was recorded.

In fact, Rohit Sharma had requested the camera personnel with folded hands to not shoot the video. But the same video was run by Star Sports despite the Indian captain asking not to. It prompted anger and frustration from Rohit Sharma, who did not spare Star Sports in his tweet yesterday.

In his tweet, Rohit Sharma stated that the lives of every single cricketer in the country have become very disruptive as cameras are shooting them at every step. He openly wrote that despite asking Star Sports to not record his conversations with his friends and despite that, the recording was made and also shared on TV.

He called it a "breach of privacy". Rohit Sharma concluded by saying that the focus on engagement and views will lead to broken trust between fans, cricketers, and the sport itself.

It created a massive stir online with fans extending their support to Rohit Sharma and bashing Star Sports for their decision to share the video regardless.

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…

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) M<!---->a<!---->y<!----> <!---->1<!---->9<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

What did Star Sports say in their clarification?

Earlier today, Star Sports released a statement regarding Rohit Sharma's tweet against the IPL broadcasters.

In their statement, they clearly mentioned that they did not make any kind of privacy breach and the only part where Rohit Sharma was asking to not record his conversation was shared.

The broadcaster then claimed that they have always kept the players' privacy on top of their priority and that they have high standards of broadcasting cricket worldwide.

"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. 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," Star Sports stated.

"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."