Sacked, commentator Manjrekar says he respects BCCI’s decision
New Delhi, March 15
Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, who was dropped by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) from its commentary panel for the ODI series against South Africa, has said he considered commentating “a privilege” and has accepted the decision as a professional.
Manjrekar, a respected voice in the commentary box who has been involved in some controversies for his opinions over the years, was axed from the BCCI’s commentary panel for the South Africa series. Incidentally, after the first match in Dharamsala was washed out by rain, the series was called off due to the coronavirus scare.
“I have always considered commentary as a great privilege, but never an entitlement,” the 54-year-old Manjrekar wrote on the social media, adding: “It is up to my employers whether they choose to have me or not and I will always respect that. Maybe BCCI has not been happy with my performance of late. I accept that as a professional.”
Incidentally, in January this year, when protests were taking place at the Gateway of India in Mumbai against violence against JNU students in Delhi, Manjrekar had retweeted images from the protest site, with this comment: “Well done Mumbai!” It may be noted that the current secretary of BCCI is Jay Shah, son of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Controversies
Manjrekar had courted controversy during last year’s World Cup when he termed Ravindra Jadeja a “bits and pieces cricketer”. This didn’t go down well with the Saurashtra all-rounder, who questioned Manjrekar’s cricketing credentials. Manjrekar later admitted that he was off the mark with his analysis of Jadeja’s abilities.
Also last year in November, Manjrekar questioned fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle’s credentials as a commentator since Bhogle has not played cricket at the highest level. Manjrekar had to apologise for that also. “With that particular comment, it was me losing control and I was unprofessional, I was wrong. It is something that I regret, it was wrong of me so that is what really bothers me that I let my emotions get the better of me,” Manjrekar said.
In 2008, when Sachin Tendulkar was going through a lean phase, Manjrekar called his poor form an “elephant in the room” that was being ignored. Tendulkar had made 128 runs in seven innings during the CB Series in Australia, with an average of 18.28. “…with Tendulkar, it’s like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about,” Manjrekar wrote in his column then. However, in the last three innings of the series, Tendulkar made 63, 117* and 91, the last two in the finals against Australia, and India won the title. — Agencies
