Test batters should get a chance in ODIs, the easiest format: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has renewed his long-held argument about the relative demands of cricket formats, this time framing ODI cricket as a reward that Test batters deserve. On his verified X account, Manjrekar posted that ODI cricket is the easiest format for batters and that those who do the hard yards in Test cricket should be given a chance to play in it as a perk.

The post appeared on Manjrekar's X handle. The post came right ahead of the commencement of the five-match one-day international series between New Zealand and India, with the first ODI set to be played at the Eden Park, Auckland on Wednesday, November 04.

Manjrekar's position that ODI cricket is the easiest format for batters is not new. He has defended this view across multiple public appearances. His core reasoning is that bowlers in ODIs do not target top-order batters with the same urgency as in Test cricket. Instead, they focus on restricting runs in the early overs rather than trying to remove the batter quickly.

He has also pointed to the behaviour of players themselves as evidence. Batters who occupied positions four, five and six in Test cricket were, in his view, almost desperate to move up to the top three or open the batting in ODIs. Manjrekar cited Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni as examples of players who batted in those lower positions in the 50-over format, which he described as the genuinely difficult spots in ODI cricket.

The Kohli retirement context and the backlash

The remarks gained significant attention earlier in 2026 when Manjrekar connected the argument to Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket in May 2025. Kohli ended a 14-year red-ball career having scored over 9,000 runs and 30 centuries. Manjrekar said he would have understood the decision had Kohli stepped away from all formats, but what disappointed him was Kohli continuing to play ODIs after leaving Test cricket.

Harbhajan Singh was among those who pushed back against Manjrekar's framing. The former India spinner said that if scoring runs in any format were that straightforward, everyone would have managed it.

Manjrekar, who played 74 ODIs for India during his own career, has also argued that the 50-over format suits top-order batters like Kohli and Rohit Sharma because it allows them time to settle and build an innings, and because the opposition does not press to dismiss them as relentlessly as in Test cricket. He has consistently maintained that Test cricket remains the ultimate examination of a player's skill and temperament, which is precisely why he believes those who succeed in it should be rewarded with opportunities in the format he considers less demanding.