Laxman Sivaramakrishnan Exposes Toxic Broadcasting Demands Following Brother’s Cremation

Former India leg-spinner and veteran commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has exposed severe workplace pressures within cricket broadcasting. In a recent disclosure, the 60-year-old stated he was directed to return to the commentary box immediately following his elder brother’s cremation.

Demands During Personal Tragedy

Taking to social media, Sivaramakrishnan detailed an interaction with a senior broadcasting director from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Minutes after concluding his brother’s final rites, he received a call requesting his immediate departure for Mohali to cover a Test match between India and Australia.

“My elder brother passed away a few years earlier. We finished cremation in the evening, minutes after that, The Director Broadcasting of BCCI called me and said, ‘now that the cremation is over, can you take a flight the next morning to commentate on Ind v Aus Test in Mohali?’ I went,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote.

He noted a similar instance of professional obligation overriding personal grief when his mother passed away while he was assigned to commentary duties in Pune.

Color Discrimination and Systemic Sidelining

These revelations follow Sivaramakrishnan’s resignation from the BCCI commentary panel ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League. He cited deep-rooted color discrimination and alleged he was consistently overlooked in favor of newer commentators.

• On-Air Restrictions: He claimed producers explicitly barred him from conducting match tosses or post-match presentations because he was deemed “not presentable.”
• Mental Health Impact: During the COVID-19 restricted IPL in the UAE, the isolation and workplace toxicity led to severe emotional trauma.

In a prior interview, he detailed experiencing hallucinations and overwhelming anxiety during the UAE tournament. “I was down completely and I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror,” he stated. “Whenever I was awake, I thought I was going to die.”

Career Snapshot

Before his transition to broadcasting, Sivaramakrishnan was a prominent spin bowler for India. His playing statistics, documented by archives like ESPNcricinfo, reflect a brief but highly analyzed international career.

The veteran commentator indicated that the ongoing emotional toll and lack of support ultimately forced his retirement from the broadcasting booth, bringing an end to his decades-long association with Indian cricket media.