Sanjay Manjrekar (File Photo)
Sanjay Manjrekar, commentator and former India cricketer, has been reportedly dropped from BCCI’s commentary team.
According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, a BCCI source has confirmed that Manjrekar has been excluded from India matches and might be dropped from the IPL commentary team too.
“Maybe he will be left out from the IPL panel too. At this stage, it is not on top of our mind. But the fact is they are not happy with his work,” the report quotes a BCCI source as saying, adding that the cricketer was not available for a response.
Manjrekar had an eventful time in 2019, when he got into a controversy for having called all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a bits-and-pieces player.
Chennai Super Kings, Jadeja’s IPL team, seemed to take a sly dig at Manjrekar’s ouster on Saturday.
Need not hear the audio feed in bits and pieces anymore. 🦁💛
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 14, 2020
There have been much speculation on why Manjrekar has been dropped from the BCCI commentary team.
Can’t see any reason to be happy about a commentator losing his job.
Can see a lot of reason to worry though, especially if said commentator is being let go for expressing a political view.
— Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) March 14, 2020
You may not agree with him, but @sanjaymanjrekar is one of the best commentators around. By throwing him out, Ganguly-led BCCI has essentially said we don’t want critical analysis, only cheerleaders. https://t.co/Jw8GOlWtm8
— Parth MN (@parthpunter) March 14, 2020
And Sanjay Manjrekar is dropped from the BCCI commentary panel. https://t.co/QOgzFNID2U
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 14, 2020
Some fans have dug up an old tweet by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, where the former India captain had criticized an unspecified commentator.
Seems like dada pre-planned this way before……🏃 pic.twitter.com/5ma2Nj5aVi
— SRIDHAR DAMNCRAZY (@SRIDHARSTAN) March 14, 2020
With cricket having been halted around the world in light of the coronavirus pandemic, it is unclear when Manjrekar can be heard on commentary once again.