Former India leg spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has retired from commentary duties for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), alleging racism and lack of opportunities during his 23-year tenure. The 60-year-old made the announcement through a series of posts on X, which have now gone viral.

Through his Responding to a user who suggested race could be a factor, she agreed, writing, “You’re right. Color discrimination.”

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Sivaramakrishnan wrote, “I am retiring from commentary for BCCI.”

He questioned why he was not given the opportunities that were given to new commentators.

He said, “If I have not been used to toss and presentation for 23 years and new people come in then what do you think could be the reason for this.”

Sivaramakrishnan further pointed out that even during the period when established names like Ravi Shastri were part of the team setup, they were not given such responsibilities, which suggests a long-standing pattern.

He said his decision to step down was not just about retirement, but also about raising questions about how production and role allocation works.

He wrote, “My retirement is no big deal. But a story of TV production comes to light. Soon you will see the bigger picture.”

Who is Laxman Sivaramakrishnan?

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was one of India’s promising leg spinners in the early 1980s.

He played 9 Tests and 16 ODIs between 1983 and 1987, taking 26 wickets with three five-wicket hauls in Tests and 15 wickets in ODIs.

He made his Test debut during the 1983 tour of the West Indies and attracted early attention after taking seven wickets for two runs in a domestic game as a youngster.

One of his standout performances was against England in 1984, where he took 12 wickets in a match.

He was also part of the India team that won the 1985 World Championship in Australia, and finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

After retiring from cricket, he moved into commentary and soon became a prominent voice for over two decades, known for his technical analysis, especially of spin bowling.

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श्रावस्ती जिले के नासिरगंज इलाके से एक अहम और भावनात्मक खबर सामने आई है। यहां के शिया समुदाय ने इस साल पारंपरिक रूप से ईद-उल-फितर नहीं मनाने का फैसला किया है। समाज के लोगों ने ऐलान किया है कि इस बार न तो कोई जश्न मनाया जाएगा और न ही कोई खुशी. इसके बजाय लोग सादगी से नमाज अदा करेंगे और हाथों पर काली पट्टी बांधकर अपनी संवेदना व्यक्त करेंगे.

अलविदा जुमे की नमाज में हुआ फैसला
इस फैसले की घोषणा अलविदा जुमे की नमाज के दौरान की गई. नमाज में बड़ी संख्या में लोग शामिल हुए और सभी ने एकजुट होकर यह फैसला लिया. समुदाय के लोगों का कहना है कि मौजूदा हालात और उनके धार्मिक नेता के निधन के कारण इस बार जश्न मनाना उचित नहीं है.

रहबर की मौत से लोग गहरे शोक में हैं
शिया समुदाय के मुताबिक, उनके सर्वोच्च धार्मिक नेता अयातुल्ला अली सिस्तानी के निधन के बाद दुनिया का पूरा शिया समाज शोक में है। इसी वजह से श्रावस्ती के लोगों ने भी ईद को सादगी और गम के साथ मनाने का फैसला किया है.

इमाम मौलाना तुफैल अब्बास का बयान
नासिरगंज के शिया जामा मस्जिद के इमाम मौलाना तुफैल अब्बास ने कहा कि अयातुल्ला अली सिस्तानी सिर्फ एक नेता नहीं थे, बल्कि पूरे समुदाय के नेता और मार्गदर्शक थे। उन्होंने उनके निधन को अपूरणीय क्षति बताते हुए कहा कि ऐसे समय में जश्न मनाना उचित नहीं है.

अन्य लोगों ने भी दुख व्यक्त किया
नाजिम हैदर ने कहा कि जिस तरह हिंदू धर्म में शंकराचार्य और ईसाई धर्म में पोप का महत्व है, उसी तरह शिया समुदाय के लिए रहबर का बड़ा स्थान है. उनके निधन से हर कोई आहत है. वकार हैदर ने कहा कि जब दुनिया में मासूमों की जान जा रही हो और हमारे अपने हमारे बीच नहीं रहे तो जश्न मनाना संभव नहीं है.

सादगी के साथ ईद की नमाज अदा की जाएगी
समुदाय के लोगों ने साफ किया है कि इस साल ईद-उल-फितर की नमाज पूरी सादगी के साथ पढ़ी जाएगी. किसी भी प्रकार का कोई उत्सव, मिठाई वितरण या उत्सव नहीं होगा। लोग काली पट्टी बांधकर अपनी संवेदना व्यक्त करेंगे और अपने धार्मिक कर्तव्य निभाएंगे।

Bhuvana Chilukuri, a 20-year-old third-year business student of Indian origin, said artificial intelligence-powered recruiting has made the job search impersonal and harsh as she applied for more than 100 jobs and was rejected for every one before graduating from Queen Mary University in London this summer.“It’s robotic. It’s cruel,” Bhuvana Chilukuri told the BBC, adding, “There were moments when I applied and in less than two minutes I got a rejection, which is really horrible.”He said he believes very few, if any, of his applications have ever been seen by a human because companies are increasingly using AI to hire new employees.“The first step is AI screening your CV. You can get rejected very quickly at that stage. Then the next process will probably be AI video interviews,” Bhuvana said.Despite numerous work experiences and internships, she said she failed to find a job after graduation. He said his frustration was shared by many people his age, for whom the first rung on the career ladder seemed out of reach.Job vacancies nearly halved after the peak of the pandemic, while higher costs for employers and stronger rights for new hires made companies more reluctant to hire. When companies recruit, they increasingly turn to AI to help sort through large amounts of applications. According to recent data from LinkedIn, nearly 89% of UK recruiters said they planned to use more AI in the hiring process this year.Bhuvana said this meant logging onto recruitment portals, where she would video record her answers while looking at her own reflection before asking questions.“I feel like a robot, because you’re just watching yourself on the screen, and answering questions for about 20 minutes. You kind of get monotonous. You don’t talk to anyone and it takes away your personality. It’s quite sad,” she said.Dennis Machuel, CEO of Adecco Group, said the AI ​​interview process can be discouraging. Adecco Group used AI in pre-screening of candidates.“People need to send an average of 200 applications to get a job offer,” said Dennis Machuel, CEO of Adecco Group, which uses AI in candidate pre-screening.“What AI brings is scale. Earlier, you would reach out to 50 people and out of that you take one, you would have 49 people who would be disappointed. Now, if you reach out to 500 candidates, you disappoint 499 people,” he said.Bhuvana said that she understands why companies use AI in recruitment and why some candidates themselves fight using it.“They’re getting a flood of applications. So I don’t blame them. But it’s getting to a point where students are becoming lazy. They say ‘If you’re going to screen with AI, I’m going to apply with AI.’ And they use AI to write their CVs. I don’t blame them either. Everyone is trying to figure it out,” she said.Law firm Mishcon de Reya said it turned to AI after receiving 5,000 applications for 35 roles in its last round of recruitment.“We’ve got more legal graduates, we’ve got fewer graduate roles, and we’ve got more candidates using AI to write more applications,” said Tom Wickstead, the company’s early careers manager.“So as an employer, we have this explosion of applications, and it’s hard to tell the difference between those applications,” he said.Wickstead said the firm trialled an AI chatbot developed by graduate careers adviser Bright Network, which screened candidates in the early stages and asked a series of questions in real time. He said the tool highlights parts of an application that may have been written by AI.Wickstead said the feedback so far from candidates was positive and AI recruitment tools could make the process fairer overall.“I don’t think any hiring process is free from bias,” he said. “So what AI has the ability to do is be much more consistent, much more fair than the old process.”He said human recruiters still interviewed candidates later in the process and made the final decision on hiring.“We’re exploring whether AI can make similar decisions, or even better, make more consistent decisions than humans,” he said.Bhuvana said that machines are no match for humans.She said, “I don’t trust AI, I think I will always trust a person. But it’s hard to get the opportunity to see that person.”Machuel said AI and humans need to work together to get the best results for potential employees and recruiting companies.“There is a need to incorporate AI smartness at the right time in the process, so that you can appreciate the efficiency of AI with people’s judgment and human touch,” he said. “This is the combination that will break this arms race.”