Hyderabad: A day after India captain and star batter Rohit Sharma accused Star Sports of breaching his privacy, the noted broadcaster on Monday said it always adhered to the highest standards of professional conduct while broadcasting cricket all over the world.
It also stated that they respect players' privacy while bringing fans, moments of intense action and preparations and it sits at the core of their ethos, which they remain committed to.
On Sunday, Rohit slammed Star Sports for playing his clip-on air despite him asking the cameramen to remove his voice. The 37-year-old posted on X that the lives of cricketers have become so intrusive that cameras are now recording every step and conversation and that's a breach of privacy.
"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 played on air, which is a breach of privacy. The need to get exclusive content and focus only on views and engagement will one day break the trust between the fans, cricketers and cricket. Let better sense prevail (sic)," Rohit posted on his X handle.
Reacting to the cricketer's claims, Star Sports in a media statement issued on Monday said, "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 the 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 said.
"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," the statement further added.
Earlier on May 11, former Mumbai Indians captain was seen making a request to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to shut down the audio while recording him after his chat with rival franchise's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. The conversation between the two took place before MI IPL fixture against KKR.
The KKR on their social media handle posted a video which was encrypted by the fans assumed that the cricketer is speaking about leaving MI after the ongoing season. Following the controversy, the video was taken down by the Knight Riders' social media team.
The discussion seemed intense from the look of it and went on something like this:
0:01 Ek ek chiz change ho raha hai,
0:04 Wo unke upar hai mujhe faraq nhi padta
0:08 Main to kahi jane nhi wala
0:12 Jo bhi hai wo mera ghar hai bhai
0:15 Jo temple maine banaya hai
0:18 Mujhe kya ye to mera last hain
0:30 Next Year main aa jaunga
However, a few days after that, on May 17, Rohit was once again seen having a chat with Dhawal Kulkarni ahead of MI's fixture against Lucknow Super Giants. Seeing himself being recorded, the opener, with folded hands, requested the broadcaster to turn off the audio as one audio had already got him into trouble.
"Bhai audio band karo haan, already ek audio ne mera waat laga diya (Brother please close the audio, one audio has already made things difficult for me)," said Sharma in the video that also went viral. The video was before the start of the MI's final home game and of the season at the Wankhede Stadium.
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