KARACHI: Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan on Friday screened the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) commentary career as accused of “colour discrimination”.
Sivaramakrishnan, who represented India in nine Tests and 16 ODIs between 1983 and 1987, made his commentator debut in 2000 and became active in the role of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 60-year-old has now announced his retirement from BCCI commentary.
“I am retiring from commentary for BCCI,” he originally posted on Twitter at X.
When asked by fans about his retirement decision, Sivaramakrishnan said that he was not given enough opportunities because of his colour.
“You’re right. Color discrimination,” he replied to a fan on the micro-blogging website.
Sivaramakrishnan further pointed out that despite being one of the most experienced names in the world of commentary and having 23 years of experience, he was neglected for presentation and toss duties.
“If for 23 years I was not used to toss and presentations, when Shastri was the coach, new people came and did pitch report, toss, presentation, what do you think is the reason?” Sivaramakrishnan raised the question.
Notably, Sivaramakrishnan’s last commentary stint came in IPL 2024 as he was not selected for the next edition of the cash-rich league.
However, the former cricketer shared earlier this week that he is looking forward to an IPL contract for commentary for the upcoming season scheduled from March 28 to May 31.
Sivaramakrishnan had posted on X that “BCCI Director of Broadcasting, if I am fine I have called my only friend Bharat Arun. Arun has said I am fine. So I am expecting an email for the IPL match.”
Meanwhile, in a separate post earlier today, Sivaramakrishnan insisted that fans are unaware of the bigger picture, which he insisted will be revealed to them soon.
“This retirement is just the beginning of a story that the general public, cricket fans and everyone will be completely shocked by,” he wrote before deleting the post.
“I am very happy that my haters are happy. But thanks to those who thought I was at least decent. BCCI will give up hopelessness.”
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