Published 14:40 IST, November 25th 2019
Harsha Bhogle leaves Twitter in awe after responding to Sanjay Manjrekar's on-air jibe
Harsha Bhogle leaves Twitter amazed by maintaining his calm after Sanjay Manjrekar hit out at the former cricketer with provocative and disrespectful comments.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar and controversy go hand in hand. During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, he called star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a 'bits and pieces' cricketer and Indian fans condemned him for his harsh comments.
The veteran was a part of the commentary team in India’s historic pink-ball Test match against Bangladesh at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Manjrekar found himself in a verbal spat once again, this time with popular cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle.
On the third day of the historic Test when India was on the brink of a famous victory, Manjrekar got himself tangled into another unwanted controversy. It was regarding the characteristics of the pink ball and Manjrekar and Bhogle got involved in an argument subsequently.
During the historic game, several deliveries hit Bangladesh batsmen on the helmet, which raised a number of questions. Nayeem Hasan and Liton Das were injured severely and were ruled out of the game. Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz replaced the duo as their concussion substitutes. Even Mohammad Mithun and Ebadot Hossain got hit on their helmets but they carried on with their batting.
Sanjay Manjrekar's disrespectful words
Seeing the batsmen getting hit, Bhogle said that the players should be asked about the visibility of the pink ball. He felt that visibility could be an issue and it could be harmful going into the long run.
However, Manjrekar brushed off Bhogle’s comments, saying that since the slip catchers weren’t having any problem, hence, the players were able to see the ball.
Rather, Manjrekar insisted that the texture of the leather was something that needed to be worked upon. Bhogle responded by saying that there was no harm in asking the players about the visibility of the pink cherry. This comment did not go well with Manjrekar as he came up with a reply, which was deemed as provocative and disrespectful by many. Manjrekar said that personalities like Bhogle, who hadn’t played cricket, needed to ask about the same.
The comments didn’t go down well with the netizens as Manjrekar faced a lot of backlash for his harsh comments. They said he didn’t have any right to demean someone of Bhogle’s stature. In the meantime, Bhogle has opened up on the matter subtly through a tweet. He used the word ‘patience’ in his post, an attribute which he displayed during the conversation. But later, he deleted the tweet.
Harsha Bhogle tweets on Sanjay Manjrekar
Updated 16:01 IST, November 25th 2019