Sanjay Manjrekar reacts on being axed from IPL 2020 commentary panel

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be finally getting underway after a long wait on September 19. Two of the most successful teams, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), are set to lock horns in the opening game as the whole tournament will be played behind closed doors. Amidst all the excitement around the IPL, there’s one missing link and that is the presence of former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar.

He has been axed by the BCCI for the upcoming season after several of his comments turned out to be controversial last year. Manjrekar calling Ravindra Jadeja ‘bits and pieces’ player didn’t go down well with the player and fans while his on-air serious banter with Harsha Bhogle also attracted severe criticism.

Rather Sanjay Manjrekar had written multiple letters/emails requesting the BCCI to reinstate him in the commentary panel. He had also stated that he will work as per the board’s guidelines. But even then, he wasn’t picked and has been left out of the IPL coverage this time. When asked about the same, Manjrekar refused to comment on the matter and cleared that he is working with multiple media houses during the tournament.

“It is better I don’t comment on that. I will be working full-time with ESPNCricinfo for their pre-match and post-match shows. I am also in the final stages of discussions with a news channel and will be in-house expert for a fantasy league platform. I will also be writing columns plus doing updates for an FM radio station,” he said while speaking to Moneycontrol.

We Indians are very sensitive to criticism, says Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar also clarified that he was completely misunderstood for his ‘bits and pieces’ comment for Ravindra Jadeja. He also cited Nasser Hussain‘s example when the former England cricketer had called Indian players ‘donkeys on the field’ had created controversy to explain how English language is often misunderstood and urged that the same has happened with him.

“We, Indians, are very sensitive to criticism. The other problem is that English as a language is often misunderstood. For most people, it is not even the second language. A lot of the terms I tend to use are misunderstood. For example, when I had said that ‘Tendulkar-related’ issues are like the elephant in the room. So, that was a term that was misunderstood.

“People thought I was calling him a ‘white elephant’. In the case of ‘bits and pieces’, people thought it was the degradation of a player. So, if I would have said ‘non-specialist’, then I don’t think there would have had been a furore.

“Once Naseer Hussain had called some Indian players ‘donkeys on the field’, which is a normal English term for people who move slowly and there was a big controversy. So, that is one of the problems in making observations in English and assuming that everyone knows,” the 55-year-old added.