The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally seems to have taken note of controversial comments made by Sanay Manjrekar during the 2019/20 season by dropping him from the commentary panel. As per Mumbai Mirror, the former India batsman has been axed from the panel and he didn’t travel to Dharamsala for the opening ODI against South Africa. His fellow commentators were in town and also did pre-match shows.
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The update doesn’t come as a big surprise as Manjrekar found himself making headlines for all wrong reasons in 2019. At first, he criticised all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja during World Cup 2019. His comments did not make headlines but Manjrekar became the talk of the town when Jadeja vented his anger on social media.
During the pink-ball Test, Manjrekar once again invited controversy for question Harsha Bhogle’s credentials as a player during the live match. His comments came as a big surprise as the duo has been sharing commentary box for more than 20 years now. In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar did accept that he had a year to forget.
He continued to share his opinion during India’s matches even after his comments but will stay away from the commentary box for a while now. He is likely to miss the upcoming season of IPL as well.
Manjrekar is the second veteran to be dropped from the panel in the past few years. Interestingly, BCCI had dropped Bhogle from the commentary panel in 2016. While no official reason was provided then, many believed that the criticism from Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan saw the board removing Bhogle.
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He stayed away from commentary for more than a year before making his full-fledged comeback during India’s tour of West Indies in 2017. He has been part of the commentary panel since then.
It remains to be seen if Manjrekar is back in the panel after a short hiatus. He works as an expert for a website and might also be seen sharing his views on television in time to come.