Sanjay Manjrekar was part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) commentary panel for many major ICC events ever since he took up the commentary gig post his retirement in 1996. While Manjrekar is one of the most experienced commentators in the world, the former Mumbai captain has been involved in quite a few controversies over the years. Meanwhile, apart from a statement, no particular reason has been released by any official stating as to why Sanjay Manjrekar was dropped. He has covered World Cups and many other ICC tournaments and is a mainstay in the commentary teams covering multi-nation cricket tournaments.
During the first washed-out ‘Ind vs SA’ ODI affair in Dharamsala, Sanjay Manjrekar was not present at the venue while the other commentators from BCCI’s panel like Sunil Gavaskar and Murali Kartik were present. The Indian cricket community is currently dealing with the outbreak of coronavirus, as the pandemic has resulted in the cancellation second and third matches in the series, which were to be held in Lucknow and Kolkata.
But, as per Mumbai Mirror’s report, he has been left out of the BCCI commentary team and will not be a part of the commentary team for the upcoming Indian Premier League, as and when it starts. “Maybe he will be left out from the IPL panel too. At this stage, it is not on top of our mind. But the fact is, they are not happy with his work,” a source was quoted saying in the report.
Manjrekar in recent months has been in the middle of a couple storms after he first called Ravindra Jadeja a bits and pieces cricketer during the 2019 ICC World Cup and then a few months later questioned the credentials of Harsha Bhogle during the historic Pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata.
In other news, a massive statement was released by BCCI on Friday, March 13 stating the launch date of the upcoming IPL 2020 has been pushed to April 15. The BCCI’s decision comes as a precautionary measure against the Coronavirus. While the IPL 2020 has been postponed, other bilateral ODI series like ‘Ind vs SA’ and ‘Aus vs NZ’ have been entirely called off after their respective first matches.
