‘Now that the cremation is over…’: Former India cricketer’s shocking revelation about cricket commentary

File image: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (TOI Photo) NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and renowned commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has made another explosive revelation about his years in cricket broadcasting, claiming he was forced to return to commentary duties immediately after his elder brother’s cremation.The former skipper, who recently quit the BCCI commentary panel citing “colour discrimination”, shared the emotional incident through a series of social media posts on Thursday.“My elder brother passed away a few years ago. In the evening we completed the cremation, a few minutes later the BCCI Director of Broadcasting called me and said, ‘Now that the cremation is over, can you fly out to commentate the Indian in Aus Test in Mohali the next morning?’. I went,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote on X.The 60-year-old revealed that despite his personal grief, he prioritized his professional commitments.“I sacrificed my grief and went. My mother died while I was commentating in Pune. When I did all that, I was subject to everything I went through,” he added.“That’s why I retired”In another post, Sivaramakrishnan suggested that the same person was one of the main reasons he decided to step down from commentary duties earlier this year, although he stopped short of naming the person publicly.In March, just days before IPL 2026, Sivaramakrishnan announced his exit from the BCCI commentary, alleging that it discriminates on the basis of skin color and is being sidelined in favor of newcomers.The former India spinner, who represented the country in nine Tests and 16 ODIs, has previously spoken in interviews about battling depression, anxiety and severe emotional trauma during his commentary career.‘I thought I was going to die’In a deeply personal interaction with the Indian Express earlier this year, Sivaramakrishnan spoke about experiencing a mental breakdown during the IPL in the UAE during the Covid-19 period.“I was completely down and I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror,” he said. “Whenever I was awake, I thought I was going to die.He described terrifying hallucinations, sleepless nights and emotional isolation, while citing years of racism and appearance discrimination in cricket circles.Sivaramakrishnan further claimed that he was often denied high-profile roles in broadcasting because he was considered “unpresentable”.

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“I never did a draw or a presentation,” he said earlier, adding that producers reportedly told him they were instructed not to put him in those roles.The former spinner also recalled the painful experiences of his early cricketing days and said that such incidents severely damaged his confidence at a young age.