Star Sports, who are the official TV broadcasters for the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023), faced criticism from cricket fans on social media website Twitter after they ran a ‘Hot or Not’ segment. In this new segment ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) match, Star Sports asks female anchors to swipe left or right on male cricketers who are currently playing in Indian Premier League 2023. The women in the show, including popular anchor Mayanti Langer, were shown pictures of Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Andre Russell on a big screen in a TV studio and were asked to rate the cricketers on the basis of their looks.
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This brand new segment did not go down well with some fans who are viewers of the sports channel. He called out the broadcasters for his ‘sexist’ show, which aired live on television sets.
Watch how fans criticize Star Sports for running a new segment that allegedly demeans women:
i hope virat kohli/shubman gill see this and sue star sports they deserve it https://t.co/H1n4fqffrU— s (@_sectumsempra18) May 18, 2023
What is this @sanjog_ji
Just reverse the situation with male anchors rating female cricket players and we have an allegation of sexual harassment and objectification ready.
star sports is in deep trouble https://t.co/XHcSWBEpd1— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) May 18, 2023
A report in Crictracker states that Star Sports’ popular cricket anchor Mayanti felt uncomfortable when she was told that Shubman was much younger than her during the segment. Bollywood actor Vidyut Jammwal was also present during this segment.
RCB makes short work of SRH
Sunrise Hyderabad Heinrich Klaasen breaks IPL ton Just 49 balls but Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis stole the limelight from him this season with a record opening stand. Virat hit his maiden century of IPL 2023 as RCB beat SRH by 8 wickets to grab two crucial points in the championship, which not only moves them closer to the playoffs but also boosts their NRR in the league.
Earlier, Klaasen was impressive as he thrashed the RCB bowlers after coming in at No.4 and saw SRH lose two wickets for just 28 runs inside the powerplay. His 104 off 51 balls took SRH to 186 for 5 in 20 overs. But Kohli and Faf played one of the best innings of this IPL to guide RCB to a memorable win in Hyderabad.