New Delhi. Indian Premier League broadcaster Star Sports on Monday denied telecasting the audio of any private conversation related to Rohit Sharma. The Indian captain has accused the channel of ‘violating’ his privacy despite requesting him to stop the recording.
Kolkata Knight Riders have shared a video involving Rohit and his assistant coach Abhishek Nair in which the Indian captain can reportedly be seen contemplating his future with Mumbai Indians. This video went viral on May 11. Knight Riders later removed this video from their social media pages. Rohit can also be seen talking to Dhawal Kulkarni before Mumbai’s match against Lucknow Super Giants on May 16. The opening batsman once again looked at the cameras and requested the broadcaster to turn off the audio.
On Sunday, he accused the channel of broadcasting private conversations but the star has denied the allegations in a statement.
The channel said, “In this clip, taken during a training session on May 16 at the Wankhede Stadium, for which Star Sports had official permission, the senior player is shown interacting with his friends on the field. No audio record of this conversation was broadcast.”
He said, “The clip only showed the senior player requesting that the audio of his conversation not be recorded, which was shown in the live broadcast of Star Sports’ pre-match preparations and apart from this, it had no editorial relevance.” The audio of this conversation was posted by Knight Riders on their social media handle, after which speculations started about Rohit’s future with Mumbai Indians. After the controversy, Knight Riders removed it.
Rohit said on Sunday, “The need to get exclusive content and focusing only on views and engagement will one day break the trust between fans, cricketers and cricket. Better understanding must prevail.” The channel said that it is committed to protecting the privacy of the players. The channel said, “Engaging fans, respecting players’ privacy during intense games and preparation moments is at the core of this policy to which the broadcaster is committed.”