Sanjay Manjrekar was dropped from BCCI’s official commentary panel earlier this year after being involved in a few controversies. Known to not mince his words when it comes to analysing the game, Manjrekar has often found himself at the receiving end for some of his comments. He recently opened up about the criticism he faced as a commentator during a live chat with Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Instagram.
Manjrekar took up commentary after retiring from cricket. He played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs for India amassing more than 4000 international runs. Manjrekar faced the wrath of India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja during the 2019 World Cup last year after he branded him a ‘bits and pieces’ cricket. Jadeja took to Twitter and slammed the commentator calling his comments ‘verbal diarrhoea’. Earlier, the same term was used by Kieron Pollard when he launched a rant on Twitter after Manjrekar said he “did not have the brains to play early in the innings” during IPL 2017.
Manjrekar was involved in another controversy last year after he had an on-air spat with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle. However, the former India batsman said he knows his limits in commentary which is the reason why he has been around for so long.
“I am not trying to fool anybody… I know my boundaries. That’s why I’m still around. Otherwise, I would have been finished as a commentator five years ago. Because I am responsible for the way I say certain things,” Manjrekar told Ashwin.
“But Indian fan following is unique. I look at it positively as well. That is why Indian cricket is a billion-dollar industry. It is because of how people follow the game. It’s not so much about the game itself, but also the people. The Kohli fan, the Dhon fan, the CSK fan, these are the people who drive the market…They love somebody so much that they don’t want someone like me finding flaws in that man. That is something that comes with the job,” he added.
