Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is the former Indian cricketer-turned commentator, and a renowned personality in cricket fraternity. Manjrekar had the most impeccable techniques which earned him 111 international appearances for India, 37 in Tests and 74 in ODIs.
But some players cannot live without cricket. Can they?
Manjrekar is one of them. After laying down the bat, Manjrekar picked up the mic. He started his new innings as a commentator, and since then, he has been in and out of the headlines for his remarks while commentating or analysing the game.
As every other cricketing career, Manjrekar too, had the taste of ups and downs in his Test career. One of the major highs of his career was in 1989, where he laid waste to the Pakistani bowlers, scoring 569 runs in four matches. The performance rewarded him with the Player of the Series award.
As a commentator, the former cricketer is infamous for his remarks against the star Indian all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja. During 2019 Cricket World Cup, Manjrekar criticised Jadeja, by describing him as a ‘bits and pieces’ player.
“I am not a big fan of bits and pieces players which Jadeja is at this point of his career in 50-over cricket. In Test-matches, he is a pure bowler. But in 50-over cricket, I would rather have a batsman and a spinner,” were the words of Manjrekar.
Later, Jadeja responded with a tweet and a brilliant performance in the semifinal of the tournament (against New Zealand), which India lost in spite a brave fight by the left-handed batter.
A similar magnificent performances came off Manjrekar’s bat in the third Test of the 1989 Pakistan series. After India lost two wickets for just five runs, Manjrekar, who came in to bat at number three, scored a breath-taking 218 and India went on to tickle the scoreboard till it reached the massive total of 509 in the first innings.
However, the match ended as a draw but Manjrekar’s knock was something extra-ordinary and the one which would be remembered for ages. Manjrekar was all over the headlines after the blazing double-century.
In 2017, Manjrekar again landed himself in the headlines. This time around, it was his on-air remark on the explosive batter, Kieron Pollard, which took him there. The former Indian cricketer was blamed for calling Pollard a brainless cricketer during an Indian Premier League match.
Pollard took offence and replied Manjrekar on twitter. Later, the commentator took the same platform to clarify that he never used the word brainless but range.
