Indian cricket commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has announced his retirement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) commentary panel, levelling grave allegations of colour discrimination and racism within the organisation. The announcement, made on March 20, 2026, comes just days before the start of the IPL season.
Sivaramakrishnan, 60, is a former leg-spinner who played nine Tests and sixteen ODIs for India between 1983 and 1986. The Indian public came to know him as Siva because he started his commentary career in 2000 and spent more than twenty years broadcasting cricket matches across India.
Sivaramakrishnan used the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, to express his anger at the system he believed prevented him from taking on important responsibilities during live broadcasts. He claimed that throughout his entire career, which lasted several years, he faced constant rejection from vital duties such as tosses, pitch reports and presentation ceremonies. The veteran commentator questioned why, even during periods when Ravi Shastri was away coaching the national team, these opportunities were routinely handed to newcomers rather than to him.
Sivaramakrishnan experienced a situation that grew more serious when a social media user questioned him about his skin colour. Sivaramakrishnan confirmed his statement by saying, “You are right. Colour discrimination. The cricket establishment faces direct accusations of racial discrimination from him. He claimed that his retirement marked only the first chapter of his story about television production methods, which would astonish people and spark disbelief within the BCCI.
The announcement has sent ripples through the cricketing community, with current Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressing surprise at the timing and nature of Sivaramakrishnan’s exit.
