Published 09:58 IST, November 30th 2020
Does Sanjay Manjrekar think Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya don't fit into Indian ODI team?
Commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was recently involved in an interview where he opened up on the Harsha Bhogle incident and also took a jibe at Ravindra Jadeja.
It is no secret that former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar does not rate Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja highly. The veteran cricket analyst has time and again taken shots at Jadeja, making many assume that there is something that he doesn't like about the Saurashtra lad. During the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 in England, Manjrekar had stirred a massive controversy by calling Jadeja a “bits and pieces” cricketer.
Sanjay Manjrekar takes shot at Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya
He was then involved in a verbal spat on-air with co-commentator Harsha Bhogle, during India’s first-ever Day-Night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019. Subsequently, the BCCI sacked him from the commentary panel ahead of the India-South Africa ODI series in March this year. Manjrekar had then issued an apology to the board ahead of Dream11 IPL 2020, expecting the Sourav Ganguly-led administration to reinstate him for the cash-rich league. However, the BCCI decided to snub Manjrekar for the competition.
Manjrekar is now back in the commentary box for ongoing India vs Australia 2020 series Down Under. Recently, the 55-year old was involved in a conversation with The Hindu where he opened up on the Harsha Bhogle incident, how he was sacked from the commentary panel in the past and also took another jibe at Jadeja.
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Manjrekar revealed that not many people know that he has been removed twice from the commentary panel before as well because of what he had tweeted. He said that it is definitely not easy and added that he has now become thick-skinned about such things. Manjrekar further said that in his twenty years of commentary, he will hold himself responsible for only the Harsha Bhogle incident, where he allowed Bhogle to get under his skin and said something that was not in good taste.
Speaking on Jadeja, Manjrekar clarified that he doesn't have a problem with the 31-year-old but he has a problem with his 'kind' of cricketers in white-ball cricket. He stated that even Hardik Pandya will not be in his team because they add illusionary value to the team. However, he reckoned that he has always rated Jadeja highly in the Test format. The Pandya claim comes as a surprise since on air, Manjrekar recently mentioned about being awestruck when it comes to his talent.
Manjrekar, who had an eventful 2020, also shed some light on how the year went for him. He said when you play cricket, you know what a good year is because you have statistics to endorse that. However, he added that with commentary it is not like that. Manjrekar opined that with commentary it is about how your analysis is or how your predictions fare.
The Indian veteran stated that last year, the problem was that the moment he said something would happen, the opposite of that would take place. He said that he equates that with having a bad run. However, he maintained that his thought process has been the same ever since he started out as a commentator.
SOURCE: SANJAY MANJREKAR & RAVINDRA JADEJA INSTAGRAM
Updated 12:06 IST, November 30th 2020