'I must not let him get under my skin' - Sanjay Manjrekar praises Harsha Bhogle in a cheeky way on Twitter

Sanjay Manjrekar has been under scrutiny from quite a sometime now. The former Indian cricketer is a renowned commentator, yet he has faced a lot of criticism for his air-spat with Harsha Bhogle and his comments on Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja.

During the India-Bangladesh Test series last year, Manjrekar had banter with Harsha Bhogle while they were on air and he faced a lot of criticism for the same. As it was India’s first Day-Night Test match, Harsha Bhogle suggested asking players whether they can see the pink ball clearly or not. As Bhogle has not played international cricket, Manjrekar’s replied was considered harsh and disrespectful.

Now, a fan asked Manjrekar to comment on Harsha Bhogle, but the former Indian cricketer replied quite cheekily to find his way out. The fan took to Twitter and wrote: “Harsha also great”. The former batsman replied wittily and praised Bhogle by saying, “Yes. One of the finest commentators. And I must not let him get under my skin.”

Yes. One of the finest commentators. And I must not let him get under my skin. 😉 https://t.co/va78gO3322

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) September 8, 2020

The excerpt of the banter between them:

“Well there is a post-mortem done on this game and there should be a post mortem on this game. Visibility of that ball will be a big factor against the big white sight-screen,” Bhogle said.

“Don’t think so. Because when you see the slip catchers the way they have taken catches, I don’t think visibility is an issue at all. The texture of the ball is the issue,” responded Manjrekar, who has played 37 Tests for India between 1987 and 1996.

“We just need to ask the players what they think,” replied Bhogle, who was the first Indian commentator to be invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for an overseas tour in 1992. On this, Manjrekar took a jibe at Bhogle, saying, “You need to ask, for those who have played cricket, it’s evident it can be seen well.”

Sanjay Manjrekar’s name missing from IPL commentators’ panel

Notably, Sanjay Manjrekar was not named as one of the seven commentators for the upcoming Indian Premier League. The BCCI announced a list of seven cricketers last month but Manjrekar’s name was missing. Earlier, he was removed from BCCI’s panel of commentators due to the controversy he faced.

He was highly denounced by the fans during the World Cup last year when he terms Indian all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja as a ‘bits and pieces’ player. Such term is used in cricket for a player who is not specialized in both batting and bowling.