Mumbai Indians stalwart Rohit Sharma wasn’t a happy man after his private conversation was recorded and leaked on social media by the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 broadcaster Star Sports. Though the broadcaster has the rights to cover cricketers, their teams both on the field and off it, Rohit had reportedly urged Star Sports to not record his private conversations during the ongoing season. Seeing his plea falling on deaf ears, the MI opening batter and Tea India captain publicly slammed the broadcaster for ‘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,” Rohit Sharma wrote in a tweet on Sunday after the end of Mumbai Indians’ campaign.

“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,” he added in the chat.

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…

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) May 19, 2024

Fans also joined Rohit in criticising the broadcaster for ‘breach of privacy’.

SHAME ON STAR SPORTS

Well said Hitman . pic.twitter.com/KbskbC6BF3

— Ådítyá.45 (@chutiya_mu70501) May 19, 2024

Rohit Sharma fires on Star Sports for recording personal conversations.

SHAME ON STAR SPORTS #RohitSharma #Rohit #Teamindia pic.twitter.com/1G4tNSw9Ow

— Vignesh Billa (@bvk6999) May 19, 2024

Nasser Hussain was the first man who exposed @StarSportsIndia .

SHAME ON STAR SPORTSpic.twitter.com/BYxGnNHSfK

— ` (@shivv0037) May 19, 2024

Rohit Sharma has criticized Star Sports for recording his conversation without his consent, despite his request for privacy. This incident has sparked discussions about media ethics and respect for players’ personal boundaries.#IPL2024 #RohitSharma

pic.twitter.com/dpBJWdIp9C pic.twitter.com/F63x4qUapp

— X-News (@X_news2024) May 19, 2024

Over the course of the last week, there were a couple of occasions where Rohit didn’t want certain conversations to be made public. At first, it was his chat with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar which triggered a storm on social media.

In the said chat, Rohit was believed to be talking about the changes that have taken place at Mumbai Indians since Hardik Pandya took over the captaincy. The Hitman also seemed to have confirmed that this was his last season at MI, during the chat.

In another conversation, Rohit urged the cameraman to not record more personal videos as one had already caused him plenty of harm, hinting at the Abhishek Nayar chat controversy.