Star Sports issues clarification after Rohit Sharma expressed frustration over airing his private conversations

In a recent debate, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 broadcaster Star Sports answered the former Mumbai Indians (MI) the captain Rohit Sharma after he made allegations on social media about a breach of privacy.

Sequence of events

The argument started when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) shared a video featuring Rohit and KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. The video included audio of their casual conversation, which was later removed. Following this, during a live training session on Star Sports, Rohit was seen asking the cameras not to record any audio of his conversations with friends on the sidelines. This made him accuse Star Sports of violating his privacy and broadcasting a private conversation on Twitter on the X social media platform.

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Star Sports’ response to Rohit Sharma

A day after Rohit’s accusation, Star Sports issued an official response denying the allegations. The broadcaster said that no audio from Rohit’s interview was recorded or broadcast. According to Star Sports, the clip in question was taken during a training session on May 16 at the Wankhede Stadium, which they authorized access to. The clip showed Rohit chatting with his friends on the sidelines, but the audio was not recorded. In their official response, Star Sports emphasized their commitment to respecting players’ privacy.

“A clip about a top Indian player and his post on social media has gained prominence since yesterday. The clip, which was taken during a training session on May 16 at the Wankhede Stadium, which Star Sports had authorized access to, showed the great player chatting with his friends on the sidelines. No audio from this interview was recorded or broadcast. The clip, which only shows the star player requesting that the audio of his interview not be recorded, appeared on Star Sports’ live broadcast of the pre-match preparations and lacked any further editing.” Star Sports was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Star Sports has reiterated its adherence to the highest ethical standards while broadcasting cricket across the world, maintaining that respect for players’ privacy is at the core of their code of conduct.

“Star Sports has always followed the highest ethical standards while broadcasting cricket around the world. Respecting the privacy of the players while bringing fans, moments of great tension and preparation, is at the heart of this goal, to which the broadcaster is committed,” Star Sports concludes.

Rohit’s IPL 2024 mixed performance with Mumbai Indians

Rohit had a mixed season in IPL 2024 with MI. The former captain scored 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150. Despite his efforts, which included a century and a fifty and a superb score of 105 not out, MI struggled throughout the tournament. Unfortunately, his individual brilliance in certain games was not enough to lift the team. The five-time champions finished bottom of the points table, having managed just four wins from their 14 matches. The overall performance of the team has been disappointing, and they have failed to make an impression this season.

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