Former India T20I and Test captain Rohit Sharma has slammed the poor standard of Indian commentary scenes and even compared them to their Australian counterparts.

Rohit Sharma has criticized the nation's cricket media and commentary, saying it is more concerned with stirring up controversy and adding "masala" than it is with talking about the subtleties of the game.

According to Rohit, true cricket fans who are keen to learn more about the game are being harmed by the current state of commentary in India. The 38-year-old claimed that the level of commentary in India and other cricket-playing countries differs greatly.

He said that instead of enjoying and analyzing the game itself, Indian broadcasters were concentrating on one star player and talking about his personal life a lot.

"You guys are focused on creating controversy, on blowing up news. The quality of journalism has gone down. Earlier, conversations would revolve around cricket. Now, it's all about getting views, likes, and making more people read your articles. Very little is written or spoken about the game itself. Tactics, analysis—it's all missing," Rohit told Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel.

"When there's a match on, we watch it on TV. But listen to how commentators speak these days. When we go to Australia, we hear their commentary, and the difference in quality is vast. Here, it's so disappointing—and I'm being very honest. It seems like they just want to single out a player and keep talking about him or her. It's very disappointing.

There are so many people who want to know about the game. Why do they need masala? They are true cricket lovers. I know there's this belief nowadays that fans want masala, but there are also those who want to understand the game. For instance, they want to know why someone's form has dipped, what he's doing wrong. They want that insight. Don't talk about personal stuff. Yes, you have a platform to speak, but that doesn't mean you can say anything. Respect the players," he added.

Senior players have expressed worries about the caliber of commentary in India, and Rohit is not the only one. In the past, Virat Kohli has also been outspoken in his criticism. Players are more than happy to take criticism for their performances, Rohit explained, but he took issue with what he called "agenda-driven" criticism.

"Yes, things have sometimes gone out of our hands, and we haven't performed well. We fully deserve criticism for that. Yes, we didn't do well against New Zealand at home—so yes, criticize us. But there's a way to criticize people. I think here it's agenda-driven criticism. That's not likeable," he said.

Rohit Sharma recently announced his retirement from Test cricket, just ahead of the Test tour of England.