Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, a seasoned cricket analyst and former leg-spinner for India, announced his retirement from the BCCI commentary panel on Friday. He cited a lack of possibilities to conduct toss and presentation ceremonies as reasons for ending his broadcasting career.
In a series of tweets, Sivaramakrishnan, who made waves as a 17-year-old in the early 1980s with his enormous, booming leg-spinners, googlies, and top spins, showed his unhappiness and seemed to be deeply dissatisfied with his profession behind the mic.
“I am retiring from commentary for BCCI,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote on his ‘X’ handle.
“If I have not been used for TOSSES and PRESENTATION for 23 years and new comers come in do pitch report Tosses Presentation even when Shastri was coaching, what do you think could be the reason. How does a company owning BCCI rights go down? Any guesses. My retirement is nothing great. But a story of tv production unfolds. Soon you will see the bigger picture,” he posted.
Additionally, Sivaramakrishnan responded to a user who questioned whether his skin tone was a problem by saying, “You are right. Colour Discrimination.”
For more than 20 years, Sivaramakrishnan, 60, was well-known for openly voicing his opinions in the commentary box.
Known affectionately as Siva, he represented India in nine Test matches and sixteen One-Day Internationals from 1983 to 1986 before starting his career as a commentator in 2000. In addition, he represented players on the ICC Cricket Committee.
Despite being wicketless in his debut Test match, he went on to become well-known for his match-winning 12-wicket haul against England in 1984.
Under the legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s captaincy, Sivaramakrishnan also played a significant role in India’s 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship victory in Australia.
In the final match against Pakistan, he was instrumental in keeping them to 176/9, which helped India win by 8 wickets. He was the tournament’s top wicket-taker, which was very significant for a spinner, given the conditions in Australia at the time.
