Of course Rohit has a point…definitely, says Michael Holding

Rohit Sharma

West Indies pace great and retired television commentator, Michael Holding has come out in support of India skipper and Mumbai Indians batting stalwart Rohit Sharma's objection to Star Sports airing his non-playing conversations.

"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 said on X.

"Despite asking Star Sports to not record my conversation, it was and was also then played on air, which is a breach of privacy." Holding, a commentator from 1988 to 2021, told mid-day that he absolutely agrees with Rohit's Sunday utterances.

Michael Holding

"Of course he has a point - definitely. It's a bit unethical of the broadcaster to do that especially if he has already asked not to record him when he is not playing. A broadcaster is free to record people's conversations while they are playing on the field through the stump microphone and all that sort of stuff. As a player, if you don't want to be recorded then you don't go by the stump microphone or don't say anything. But if you are outside with your friends, having a private conversation with someone else - that should not be recorded. If they record it, they should come to you and say, ‘is it ok if we broadcast it? That is an ethical way of doing things.

"What you're doing is not illegal, but there is something called morality. But I'm not sure if those things matter any longer," said Holding, 70, from the Cayman Islands.

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Does Holding feel there are far too many people on the field before the commencement of high-profile matches? "I don't know what's happening in the IPL but David Lloyd [England batsman-turned-commentator] and I used to talk about that - not on air - but we talked about that regularly and I used to ask him, ‘Bumble, [the Lancastrian's nickname] how many do you reckon are on the field' and we used to count upto 40 people on the field before a game starts; sometimes more. A touring team will have a squad of 15-16 and then 10-11 of the other staff and then you have the umpires and the ground staff. The ground people have the right to control that," said Holding.

Prakash Wakankar. Pic/Getty Images

Like Holding, Indian radio commentator Prakash Wakankar understood Rohit's angst. "My simple view is anything used by a media source ideally ought to be authorised and approved. It's isn't fair to pick up informal conversations specially if they are in a safe personal space! That said, public personalities ought to be careful too," remarked Wakankar, a BBC commentator.

Joseph ‘Reds' Perreira

Meanwhile, West Indian broadcaster Joseph ‘Reds' Perreira, who has been doing commentary since 1971, said the broadcaster keeping the audio on in the footage was totally "unprofessional." Perreira remarked: "That's not a norm in international standards. That principles have been ignored is just not on."