'This is absolutely unnecessary' - Sanjay Manjrekar faces the heat after his on-air spat with Harsha Bhogle

In the wake of that bizarre exchange, Sanjay Manjrekar has been facing the heat on Twitter.

Published - 25 Nov 2019, 11:35 IST | Updated - 25 Nov 2019, 11:35 IST

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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has a knack of making it to the news for wrong reasons. The ex-cricketer-turned-commentator is not the most popular of commentators among the fans and faces the heat every now and then. Manjrekar rarely shies away from speaking his mind out and finds himself in trouble more often than not.

In this year’s World Cup only, he had faced criticism from all around after calling India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja ‘bits and pieces’ cricketer. Not only the fans, but Jadeja had also slammed the former cricketer for his distasteful remark. Manjrekar has now found himself in the middle of yet another controversy following the on-air spat with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle.

The two were involved in a heated exchange while commentating during the historic day-night Test between India and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens. Manjrekar and Bhogle were speaking about the pink ball and its visibility before getting into the argument. Bhogle started the conversation by saying that the Indian players should be asked for their views on the ball before Manjrekar seemingly suggested that he was more of an authority in the game because of having played international cricket himself.

The exchange and the aftermath

“When there is a post-mortem done of this, the visibility of the ball will be one of things to look at,” Bhogle said.

Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests, replied, “Don’t think so. Don’t think visibility is an issue.”

Bhogle, however, remained firm with his point and reiterated, “We just need to ask the players what they think.”

In reply, Manjrekar took a jibe at Bhogle, saying, “You need to ask perhaps, for us, those who have played the game, we have a fair idea of what’s happening out there.”

But Bhogle was having none of it as he too hit back at his fellow commentator, saying, “The only reason you need to ask is, having played cricket should never be a limitation or a ceiling to learning. We would never have had T20 cricket otherwise.”

And in the wake of that bizarre exchange, Sanjay Manjrekar has been facing the heat on Twitter. While many fans have accused him of bullying Bhogle, some said that it was totally unnecessary.

Here are some of the reactions to the exchange between the two commentators

This is boorish and absolutely unnecessary from @sanjaymanjrekar. Pity. What does it cost to be civil to a fellow commentator who was asking a very valid question? "You need to ask." Really. https://t.co/M7uhsyFpgD
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) November 24, 2019

This is unnecessarily condescending and disappointing coming from someone such as @sanjaymanjrekar who I have respect and affection for. Of course playing the game at the highest level is great. But, as @bhogleharsha says, no harm at all in asking those involved in THIS game. https://t.co/MTvIVLzcK0
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) November 24, 2019

The @sanjaymanjrekar v @bhogleharsha controversy is ridiculous.
Listen to Australian, NZ, SA or English commentators.
They disagree with each other every 2 minutes while pulling the "have you ever made a 200" card.
Strong opinions are awesome.
— Dennis Babar (@DennisCricket_) November 24, 2019

Sanjay Manjrekar is a disgrace to television commentary. I’ve had enough! #IndvBan
— Ajith Ramamurthy (@Ajith_tweets) November 24, 2019

Harsha Bhogle should hav told #SanjayManjrekar ,
"if you weren't a cricketer, you would have never made it to the commentary box" #Facts
— Harsha (@Hramblings) November 24, 2019

People who are supporting Sanjay on his controversial argument, should consider below point:
Going by same logic, Bogle is having better analytical mind as he has cracked CAT and done his MBA from IIM Ahmadabad.#SanjayManjrekar #INDvBAN
— Zeenu ✌🏾 (@xyznu) November 24, 2019

#SanjayManjrekar has played exactly the same no of cricket matches with the pink ball as #HarshaBhogle. There wasn't anything wrong in what HarshaBhogle said & Manjrekar had no business being rude on air. Never liked him when he was playing, will never like him commentating. 🙄 https://t.co/c7Ho1fmSav
— Pallavi Deka (@pallavi_deka) November 24, 2019

Not a good gesture @sanjaymanjrekar thought you were being unfairly treated in some issues in past but the one with @bhogleharsha was unnecessary. The talks could have been kept more objective If somebody taunts you for not having played T20s how will you feel #SanjayManjrekar
— Shubham Ghosh (@how_isee) November 25, 2019