Tensions flared between former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and IPL broadcaster Star Sports. A video surfaced online showing Rohit requesting the cameraman to mute the audio while he chatted with former teammate Dhawal Kulkarni. Subsequently, Rohit took to social media, to slam the channel for airing a private conversation and breaching his privacy. Star Sports has now responded with a statement denying the allegations. They clarified that no audio of a personal conversation involving Rohit Sharma was ever broadcast.
Star Sports responds to Rohit Sharma's allegation
Star Sports issued a statement refuting the allegations.
"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," Start Sports stated.
Star Sports further stated that no audio recording was made of the conversation in question.
"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.
Few days back a video of Rohit Sharma talking to Abhishek Nayar surfaced online. The video, accidentally posted by the Kolkata Knight Riders, sparked rumors about Rohit's future with the Mumbai Indians. KKR quickly took down the video, but not before it went viral.
Adding fuel to the fire, Rohit publicly criticised Star Sports on Sunday. He accused them of recording his private conversation with Nayar even though he had explicitly requested them not to.
"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," Rohit had said on May 19.
Nevertheless, the channel stated that it respects the privacy of the players and has always adhered to the highest standards of professional conduct while broadcasting cricket all over the world.
"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 Sharma's IPL 2024 campaign for the Mumbai Indians was a double-edged sword. While he managed to score 417 runs at a brisk strike rate of 150, his average was 32.07. He even had a century (105*) and a fifty to his name. However, the season didn't go well for Mumbai Indians as a team. They finished last in the points table, winning only four out of their 14 matches.
Rohit will have his eyes set on bigger goal now as he is gearing up to lead Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup which is set to start from June 2.
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