IND vs AUS | Don’t like Jadeja-Pandya like cricketers in white-ball cricket, opines Sanjay Manjrekar

While India exited the 2019 World Cup in the semi-final against New Zealand, the talk of the town was the verbal-battle between Ravindra Jadeja and Sanjay Manjrekar, who was on-air during the tournament. Manjrekar went on to call Jadeja a ‘bits and pieces’ cricketer, which in turn irked the all-rounder to openly criticise the former cricketer-turned-commentator. 

After a year of the incident, Manjrekar has further opined that he doesn’t like a Jadeja or Hardik Pandya like cricketers in white-ball cricket. The Mumbaikar also pointed out how people with one discipline could walk into the team instead of the two cricketers, who offer three-dimensional cricket for the team. He also insisted that he has a problem with this kind of cricketers. 

“My selection and thoughts are based on a principle that I have learned over the years: if you have specialists who can walk-in based on one discipline, you fill your team with those players. I do not have a problem with Jadeja; I have a problem with his kind of cricketers in white-ball cricket,” Manjrekar told The Hindu.

Manjrekar also reckoned that Pandya won’t be in his team, because he only adds illusory value to the team but also straight away cleared the air that he rates Jadeja highly in the longest format of the game. 

“Even Hardik Pandya will not be in my team. They add illusory value to the team. Of course, I have always rated Jadeja highly in the Test format,” he added. 

From a personal note, Manjrekar opened up about the frailties of a commentator’s job, revealing that he was removed earlier from the job but insisted that he has become thick-skinned about those things. 

“Not many people know that I have been removed earlier as well. It was something I tweeted. It’s not easy, of course, but in many, I have become thick-skinned about such things,” Manjrekar concluded.