Sanjay Manjrekar.
Sanjay Manjrekar. Image Credit: X

The former Indian middle order batter, Sanjay Manjrekar, has again faced himself on the receiving end of criticism after his sorry comments or air when he was commentating for the Women’s T20 World Cup clash between India and New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The old stories of Sanjay Manjrekar regarding his comments on some of the individual players have not been healthy. In the past, he called Ravindra Jadeja, the premier all-rounder of the Indian side, a player of ‘bits and pieces’ during the 2019 ODI World Cup.

The renowned commentator has been known for his free-minded nature but, he took a wrong step while being on commentary during the opening clash of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar fails to recognize players from ‘North India’

During the commentary stint for the Hindi Broadcast side, the panel was discussing Munish Bali, who is currently the fielding coach of the women’s team after making the step from the U-19 men’s unit. He was also on the coaching panel of the Indian team when they made a short trip to Ireland for two T20Is under head coach VVS Laxman.

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The commentary part of Sanjay Manjrekar was a discussion on Bali, addressing how the former cricketer from Punjab has taken the role of fielding coach of the side.

“Sorry, meine unko pehechana nahin. North ke players ke saath mere zyaada dhyaan nahin hota. (Sorry, I didn’t recognize him. I am not too aware of players from the North.)” The Mumbai batter of the Blue Brigade responded.

The fans on the social platforms weren’t happy at all, with the reflection, of the ignorance of the players in the northern region of the country. This has also questioned the lack of awareness of the Indian women’s team in the World Cup by Sanjay Manjrekar. It has been questioned towards the fact that the captain of the Women’s side, Harmanpreet Kaur, also hails from Punjab.

Munish Bali of Patiala is one of the famous coaches of the circuit of Indian cricket, having begun his career at the age-group level of the game for Punjab. He has also carried the experience of the national set-up, having been the assistant coach for the U-19 World Cup winning side, which had some of the gun fielders like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Manish Pandey.

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This misjudgment also took place between Sanjay Manjrekar and the renowned commentator of India, Harsha Bhogle, during the game between India and Australia in 2019. He was recently criticized for his treatment in the toss during the IPL 2024 game between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

India faced a defeat by 58 runs against the White Ferns in their opening game of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their next game of the event is against Pakistan, at the same ground, who, are coming on the back of their victory over Bangladesh.