"Lacked editorial relevance" - Star Sports defends itself after Rohit Sharma's audio-record saga causes backlash

Star Sports, the official broadcaster for IPL 2024, released a detailed statement on Monday defending its conduct over the audio-record saga involving Indian men's captain Rohit Sharma. The broadcaster didn't take Rohit's name but, curiously, chose to address him as "a senior Indian player" in the remark.

The issue arose when Star Sports used a clip of Rohit folding his hands and requesting the cameraman not to record the audio of his private conversation on its pre-match show. Rohit was heard saying that "another audio" had gotten him into trouble earlier, apparently referring to a now-deleted video by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) social media handle, which caused major controversy too.

"A clip involving a senior Indian player and his post on social media have gained prominence since yesterday," Star Sports said. "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."

The statement added:

"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."

While Star Sports has the TV rights for the broadcast, the digital rights are owned by Viacom18 (owner of JioCinema), which is backed by the Reliance Group, which also owns the Mumbai Indians franchise that Rohit is a part of.

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What did Rohit Sharma say that led to Star Sports' response?

After the video started to do rounds on social media, Rohit Sharma released an uncharacteristic statement, saying "the need to get exclusive content" from the broadcasters would soon break the trust between cricketers and fans.

He said:

"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 focused only on views and engagement will one day break the trust between the fans, cricketers and cricket. Let better sense prevail."

The Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of IPL 2024. The captain will now be seen in action at the 2024 T20 World Cup which begins next month in the West Indies and the USA.